Petite Soeur
by AngieX
Summary: XXNew Chapter upXX The name means little sister in French. Remy takes on a new responsibility when his parents die, leaving him with a little sister to take care of. Things are going fine until she gets her powers! ROMY!
1. Accepting Death

CHAPTER 1  
Accepting Death  
  
Chloe tried to fall asleep on her brother's old couch but it was no use. The things that had taken place in the past few weeks were just now sinking into her brain.  
  
FLASHBACK!  
  
Chloe sat listening to her Evanescence CD in the backseat of her dads Jeep. Her mom and dad were arguing over which exit to take but Chloe tuned them out and went back to listening to her music. Suddenly a loud piercing scream could be heard from her mother over her headphones. Chloe looked up to see a truck headed straight at them. The car swerved and jerked violently. Chloe wasn't wearing her seatbelt so she was thrown through the window in the front of the car and into the street. The car turned over a few times and right in front of Chloe's eyes, went up in flames. She ran for the car screaming out to her parents. "No, no" She tried to go back for them but a man who had seen the whole accident grabbed her and held her back from the massive, hot flames. He tried to tell her that she'd be killed if she went back into the fire. Chloe didn't care though. She wanted to be with her parents so badly. She finally gave up fighting the man's grip, falling to the ground in a fit of tears and hyperventilation. She watched the smoke riding from the burning remains of the car and knew that she would never get to see her parents again.  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
Chloe couldn't hold it back any longer. Hot tears fell from her eyes so much that she could barely see. She sat up and continued crying. A light from one of the closed doors in the hall switched on and the door swung open. Her brother looked at her and rushed to her side. He wasn't wearing his sunglasses, which he usually wore to cover up his demon-like red on black eyes, but this didn't bother her. She was use to it.  
  
"Petite soeur what's wrong" He asked her as he tried to wipe away some of the tears that were staining her face and calm her down. "Their gone Remy. Their gone and their never coming back." She sobbed and buried her head in his chest, now crying more than ever. Remy's eyes filled with grief and sympathy for his little sister. "Shhhhh" Remy quieted her the best he could while cradling her in his arms. His heart broke a little as he tried to get a word in over the muffled crying of his younger sibling. "I know, I know chere, but don' worry petite soeur. It gonna be okay. Remy promises. We gonna get trough dis. We Le beau's gotta stick togeta non?" He tried to reassure her, though failing miserably. The two of them sat there for a while until Chloe had cried herself to sleep. 


	2. A Walk To Remember

CHAPTER 2  
A Walk To Remember  
Remy gently laid his younger sibling back down on the couch, covering her with a blanket. She flinched a bit but settled herself back into a deep sleep. Remy smiled at this. He looked down at his little sister. Her long straight hair was the exact color of his. She did share a lot of physical traits with him he had to admit. She was the only one he knew that could pull off his famous smile and charm. Though he liked to believe that she didn't use it as much as he had. He still thought of her as the little four year old he used to teach poker to. Though she wasn't a little girl anymore. Remy really didn't like that fact. Never the less their parents had put her life in his hands and he was going to raise her without the havoc of mutant vs. mutant wars.  
  
He quietly stepped into the bathroom where he splashed large waves of water on his face a few times before pulling on his trench coat and sunglasses and slipping out the door. He needed to be out of the small apartment for a while. He still wasn't sure what he was going to do. It had been three weeks sense he had taken on the care of his fourteen year old sister and abandoned the Acolytes. Magneto didn't really appreciate this so Remy had to take what he could and leave ASAP. He was now living in a small, rundown apartment building in Bayville. There were two bars on his street, which Remy went to often. 'What am I gonna do when da fille get her powers? If da fille get her powers dat is.' Remy thought to himself, not watching where he was going. It was about 5:00 AM as he walked down the uneven sidewalks of the town. Remy was looking down at his shoes and didn't see the man standing right in front of him.  
  
He bumped into the man and fell to the ground though the stranger didn't seem to move a muscle. "Oh sorry monami" Remy said as he slowly got up and brushed himself off. I don be lookin' where I was goin non." Remy said apologetically. He looked up and came to an abrupt stop. "Cajun. What the hell are you doin out on the streets of my town this early? And I'd better like the answer." Logan stood with confidence and focused on the Cajun, obviously waiting for a valid answer. "Can' a man take a walk around da block a his house wit out doin notin' wrong?" Gambit asked with a slight smirk on his face that faded into gloominess almost immediately. Remy wasn't himself lately and Logan had picked up on this right away. "Wrong answer bub." Logan growled as he let out one of his claws. "Strike one." Gambit looked at the Wolverine and realized that he had some bottled up rage and wanted to let it out on Remy. "Wait. You mean to tell me that you're livin' here?" Logan enquired with a curious look on his face. "Did Gambit say dat? You mus' be hearin' tings Wolfy. Gambit no livin' here." Remy lied and tried to keep a poker face on for the man. "Ya know I really hate it when you Acolyte scum try an' hide the truth after lettin' it slip. Really annoys the hell outta me. Strike two." Logan said, letting a second claw come out from his knuckle. "Easy now Monami. Gambit aint workin' fo Magneto no more. He got mo' important tings to worry bout." Remy tried to get the subject away from where he'd lived. "You expect me ta believe that Cajun? And why would ya just pick up and leave the Acolytes for no reason?" Logan asked eyeing the boy. "Jus' wanted a new start." Gambit tried to convince the man who was running out of patience. They weren't that far from the apartment Remy was staying in and he didn't want anyone to know about his new 'roommate'. And he sure as hell didn't want the Wolverine to know and go blabbing to Xavier about her. He didn't want anyone to know about his loss, or his gain. (Loss being the parents and gain being his sister for those of you who didn't get that.) "So you're here all by yerself huh Cajun?" Logan was fishing for information and Remy knew he was close to getting a bite. Remy was about to run and get Logan as far away from the apartment as possible. He knew the Wolverine couldn't resist a chase. "Yep. Dats right. All by m' lonesome." Remy tried to assure him. "You wouldn't be lyin now would ya Cajun?" Logan eyed Remy as Remy squirmed slightly at the accusation. "Mwa? Non-No. I be up here by m' self." Remy said trying to look as innocent as possible. Though failing miserably.  
  
That was it. Remy was going to make a run for it. But just than the apartment's front door creaked open and Remy was caught in the web of lies he had weaved for Logan. "Remy some guy named Pyro is on the phone. Say's he needs to talk to ya." Chloe had walked in on the two men without thinking. She didn't see anything wrong with what she had done until she saw the look of horror on her older brothers face. "Back in de house chere. NOW." Was all Remy had said to her. She looked at the other man and saw his claws. "Strike three Cajun." The man said, showing yet another claw from his knuckles. "Your out. I think you'd better come with me." The man said, grabbing her older brother by the shoulder and trying to drag him back to a motorcycle. "You too kid. We've been lookin' all over town for you." The man said to Chloe who was pretty much as scared and confused as she could be at this point.  
  
"Remy, What's going on?" Nutin you need to be worryin' bout Petite soeur. Now do as Remy say an' go inside." He said with more pleading in his voice. Chloe wasn't convinced. "No. I'm not going anywhere without you. I'm not loosing you too." She said firmly stamping her foot on the ground. "CHERE GO" He yelled, punching Logan in the face trying to get Logan's attention away from her. "Look kid. I said get on the bike." Logan said trying to keep up with the two teenager's conversation. This time all Logan's claws were out and had appeared inches away from Chloe's face. She stood shocked. She tried to run but she couldn't. "CHLOE RUN" Her brother shouted which brought her back to reality. Chloe took off at an amazingly fast speed.  
  
Of course when your as scared as she was you'd probably be running just as fast. "Come on Cajun. Let's get you back to Xavier. The others will get her." "What do ya wan' wit da fille? She non do nuttin wrong." Logan didn't answer this. He actually made it clear to Remy that he was ignoring him. And with that Logan had gotten on his bike with the boy and rode off. Little did he know, Chloe was following fast behind on Remy's bike. Actually he did know it because of his increased sense of hearing and smell but decided to let her follow instead of having to drag her along with them. "She's one stubborn kid." Logan said to the Cajun. She's been followin' on yer bike ever sense we left." Logan had a small smirk on his face. "Merde" Remy said aloud. "Wait a minute. What do you mean my bike?" "Oh non. Dat fille's gonna be da end a me fo sure." Remy winced as he pictured his pride and joy being dented, crushed, and toed away by a dump truck. "She's actually doin pretty good on it. Ohhhh. There goes yer mirror bub." Logan said with an even bigger smirk on his face. "Oh merde. Why me?" Gambit asked the skies. They came to halt at a huge mansion and Chloe jumped off the bike and followed them by foot past the gates so as not to be seen. Of course Logan had gone ahead and shut off the alarm system and everything on the gates and the perimeter so she would get in without being barbequed. "Ohhhh, even I have to feel sorry for ya, seein' what that kid just did ta yer bike pal." Logan said, though with a now enormous grin on his face. They parked and went inside the giant building.  
  
"Now how the hell am I supposed to get in there?" Chloe asked herself aloud. "Vell you could just go up and ring de doorbell but then that would totally defeat the element of surprise ja?" Chloe turned around to see a furry blue boy with glowing, yellow eyes and a tail standing next to a young slim girl with a pink top and her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.  
  
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(Oh just so you know I don't own any of the X-men or anything (duh) I only own Chloe and maybe others in the story that Might come later but I'm not sure.)  
  
So what did you think?  
  
Seriously I'd like to know!  
  
Is it worth writing another chapter for or what?  
  
Critisism is most welcome people  
  
As in bring it on  
  
Ok well I gotta go but seriously  
  
REVIEW!!  
  
All I want is a couple.  
  
It's not like I'm asking for a hundred or something  
  
Anyways  
  
Thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing  
  
Luv ya all!!!  
  
-AngieX 


	3. Just Dropping In

CHAPTER 3  
Just Dropping In  
Chloe let out a scream as she hit the blue demon in the face and ran in a random direction. "Kurt you like so totally should have worn your holowatch." Kitty told him as she helped him to his feet. "Vanna try again?" Kurt asked his teammate. "Sure, if we can catch up to her I mean." Kitty said. "No sweat Katchen." Kurt grabbed her hand and ported a few feet in front of where Chloe was headed. "Ahhh." Chloe screamed in shock and ran again. She looked back at the creature that was following her while running and did not look where she was going.  
  
She was about to run into an old Oak tree on the property when she felt someone grab her shoulder and she was phased through the plant. "Whoa! Its like a hologram." Chloe said to herself aloud. "Nine. It's Keety." Kurt said as he caught up to the two girls. "It's okay, he's one of us. Just. a little fuzzier." Kitty reassured the girl who was about to run again. "See." Kurt said as he did something with his watch and transformed into a normal looking teenage boy. "Oh.Sorry." Was all that came out of Chloe's mouth after seeing the mistake she'd made. "It's nice to meet you both. I think. Who are you anyways?" Chloe asked. "I'd ask you the same question. We're Mutants like you. And we only want to help you get control over your powers." Kitty explained. "My.?" Chloe was trailed off by a mocking voice to her left.  
  
"Oh look. Blue boy's made a friend." Peitro Maximoff stood with the rest of the brotherhood on the inside of the gates to the Mansion. He laughed with the mocking words he said. "Ya know it's not as hard to get into this place when the alarm system's shut down. Thanks a lot X-freaks." Lance joined his teammate as Todd and Fred snickered behind them. "Who the hell are yo." Chloe was cut off by a puff of sulfur in her face, which she accidentally swallowed. By the time the smoky substance had cleared she was gasping for air. She looked around and realized that she was no longer on the ground by the gates but up on the roof with the blue boy and the valley girl.  
  
"I'll go get Scott and the others. You stay here vit. Vhat vas your name again frouline?" "Uh.Chloe." Kurt ported off and left the two girls up on the roof. Chloe felt like she was going to be sick and probably looked it too because the valley girl started talking to her about it. "Don't worry. It's like totally usual to get airsickness the first time he teleports with you. I'm Kitty Pryde by the way. This is a school for mutants like you and me incase you haven't already like figured that out. The professor told us you'd be coming back with Logan. Although we didn't think you'd be bringing Gambit along with you."  
  
"Yes. That was just icing on the cake for us." Chloe and Kitty turned around to see a blue woman with red hair. "Mystique." Chloe heard the valley girl say through gritted teeth. "I'd hate to ruin this little get together of yours but.oh wait. No I wouldn't. Sabertooth." The red headed woman ordered. A furious looking beast with long blond hair came into site and charged at the two girls. "Kitty look out!" Chloe charged at kitty first, thinking that they would just fall down out of the way. She did not however expect for her and her new friend to fall through the roof."  
  
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"Look monami. I aint done nuttin wrong an' needer as' m' sis.da fille. So if ya don' mind Gambit gotta go fin' her and get da hell outta here." Gambit moved to stand up from the couch in the living room but Logan stood and gave him a glare until the Cajun sat down again.  
  
Remy was sitting in the living room of the huge mansion and was being questioned and observed by Storm, Wolverine, Beast, Cyclops, Jean, Rouge, Spike, and of course Professor Charles Xavier. "Ah still don't trust him." Rouge said with a glare towards her enemy. Remy saw this and flashed her a flirtatious smile. Rouge saw the smile and rolled her eyes before crossing her arms and sending a death glare his way before looking in another direction.  
  
"I'm with Rouge on this one Professor. Scott said as he eyed their hostage questioningly. "How do we know this isn't just another trap of Magneto's?" Scott asked the Professor, not taking his eyes off Gambit. "I told ya already. Gambit no' be workin' fo Magneto no more." Gambit said with honesty and some annoyance seeing how he had already explained that fact more than once to the X-men.  
  
"Right dude. And we're supposed to believe you because?" Spike asked Gambit. "The Cajun's tellin' the truth about that part, I'm almost sure." Logan had broken into the conversation and was actually defending Remy. "The kid aint got a scent of a single one a the Acolytes which means he probably hasn't been around any of em in a while am I right?" Logan looked towards Gambit who nodded in relief, seeing that someone had finally believed something he said.  
  
"I still say it's a trap." Scott argued, though quieted down after seeing the look Logan was giving him for questioning him. Gambit threw his hands up in surrender. "Look, why don' we jus' do dis da easy way non?" Gambit asked the Team of Mutants who all looked confused. All except Xavier. He had wheeled himself over to Gambit and was now within reaching distance of him. "Are you sure about this Gambit?" The Professor asked Remy, though he knew it would probably be the best thing to do. Qui Monsieur. Jus' don go too deep inta Remy's head non?" Remy asked with a grin on his devil may care face. "Of course." Xavier replied as he reached his hands toward Gambit.  
  
BAMF!!!! Kurt popped in with a cloud of sulfur yelling something about being under attack and other things that could not be deciphered because he was jabbing away in a mixture of German and English. "Elf calm down and tell us what the hell is the matter with ya." Logan ordered. Kurt took a deep breath and looked at his teammates. "Ze Brotherhood. Zey got in Vhen Ve opened ze doors vor da new girl." Kurt said a little bit slower, clearer, and in English now.  
  
Xavier moved his hands away from Gambit and cleared his throat. "Everyone please remain calm. Jean, can you get a reading on where our unexpected visitors are?" The professor said in a very calmed, and cool voice. "Sure." Jean said as she put her hands up to her temples. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and looked around at her friends, who were obviously waiting for an answer.  
  
"Well Mystique and Sabretooth just retreated and the brotherhood boys are trying to get into one of the windows in the west wing." "Oh great their after Cerebro yet again. Don't those guys ever quit?" Evan asked when he realized that Cerebro was in the west wing. "Or at least try somezing more original ja?" Kurt said to Evan. Both snickered a bit before looking up at the voice of Xavier.  
  
"Alright everyone that's enough. Logan, you and Storm go after Mystique and Sabretooth. It's not normal for either one of them to leave a chance like this to get Cerebro in the hands of the brotherhood. They must have had a reason for leaving so soon and I'd like for you two to try and find out what that reason is." He said to the two mutants who nodded their heads in approval and understanding. They walked out the door and into the garage without another word.  
  
"Scott take Jean, Evan and Kurt over to the west wing and try to get to the brotherhood before they do any serious damage if you would." The Professor said. Scott nodded his head in more of a military kind of way than Logan and storm had. "Ok team, you heard the Professor. Kurt can you port us over to the west wing?" Scott asked his fuzzy comrade. "Ja Voulg!" Kurt answered as he grabbed Evan and Jeans hand. Jean grabbed onto Scott to complete the chain. BAMF!!! Once again all that was left of the four X-men were the remaining clouds and smell of sulfur.  
  
"Hank if you would, please come with me to the surveillance area and help me secure the alarms again. Rouge I would like you to stay here with Gambit until we can all reassemble once more." Xavier said and before Rouge could argue he and Hank had left the room.  
  
She looked over at the boy who had a huge smirk on his face. "Ah chere. Fate has made it so dat Remy can finally be alone wit de beautiful fille." He said as he edged in closer to her. She hadn't realized it but she had some how made her way over to the couch that Remy was sitting on. Rouge merely rolled her eyes at the comment and gave him an annoyed look. "Do ya'll practice those corny lines in tha mirror before ya'll say em or does it just come naturally?" Rouge asked the suave young Cajun, breaking the silence. "Depends. Does de fille like em?" He asked, lowering his glasses a bit. She rolled her eyes once more and sighed, wondering when someone would come back and end this.  
  
"Ya know chere, Remy tink yo' eyes is tres Beautiful." Remy said in a flirtatious voice. He was moving closer and closer to her with every word. Really Swamp Rat. Aint ya got better things ta do than annoy the hell outta me?" She asked, now turning to face him. "Well seein' how da Wolverine goin' an' forcin' Remy ta come down here." Remy trailed off. He was now so close to Rouge that she could have sworn she could hear his heart beating. 'Okay this is way to close for comfort.' She thought to herself.  
  
The Cajun scooted even closer than she thought possible to her and leaned his head into hers. Rouge wanted to move. She even tried, but something was holding her back from doing so. And as much as she'd love to say so, it wasn't Remy who was holding her back. It was her own self that was keeping her from moving away. She felt his breath in her ear as he pulled back her auburn hair and whispered something to her in French. "She wasn't sure what he had said exactly but she'd got the jest of it and could feel her cheeks starting to blush. 'What am ah doin'?' She thought to herself. 'Ah can't be fallin for the Swamp Rat. Can Ah?' She glanced at the Cajun before returning to her thoughts. 'No. Ahm just not used ta boys actin like this around mah that's all.' She reassured herself before pushing her body away from the boy. "Oh come on now chere. Don' fight de passion. You neva gonna win." That's all Rouge needed to snap out of her puppy love trance.  
  
"Why you vain, conceited, slime ball, swamp rat of a Cajun." Rouge called him as she stood in defiance. "I wouldn't love you if ya'll were the last livin thang on the planet." She shouted at him and threw a pillow at his face. "Ah de fille like ta play hard to get oui?" Gambit sat in a comfortable position and put his feet up on the coffee table across from him. "Ugh ya'll makin' me so sick and annoyed. Why dontcha jus' go crawl back under what ever rock in New Orland ya'll came from?" She said with a huff.  
  
Remy stood to defend himself. "Might Gambit remind you dat it wasn' his idea ta come here in de first place." Gambit said, a little louder than he had meant for it to come out. "Yeah well ya'll brought that on yerself by tryin ta take that poor, confused mutant girl and givin her ta Magneto." Rouge said, now louder than Remy had been. "Oh yeah, well." Gambit had trailed off. "What you be talkin' bout chere?" Remy asked Rouge, clearly confused at what she had just said to him.  
  
"Oh don't play dumb, swamp rat. Though as hard as that may be for ya. We all know ya found that girl and was gonna hand her over ta Magneto if Logan hadn't found ya first." Rouge stated matter-of-factly. Remy stood there for a minute trying to figure out what the gothic beauty in front of him was accusing him of. "Oh no monami. You don' understand. Remy non gonna hurt de fille. He jus' been takin care o' her." Remy explained, figuring out what was going on. "Oh sure Swamp rat. Like I'd believe that comin from an Acolyte such as yerself." Rouge said with her hand on her hip. "Ya know what chere? Fo'get it. You non gonna believe anyting Gambit tells ya eeder way." "Fine than. Jus' tell mah why ya'll had that girl with ya in the first place." Rouge said, now a little calmer than before.  
  
She jus' drop in on Remy dats all. Nuttin more." Gambit said with his poker face. He wanted to keep Chloe's identity as quite as possible and for him to do that he couldn't go and tell the enemy she's his kid sister. "Oh really?" Rouge asked rhetorically. "You expect me to believe that she just dropped in on ya? Now ah suppose ya'll gonna tell mah she fell down from the skies right?" Remy had his hands out in front of him and it was a good thing too because just after Rouge had said that, Chloe and Kitty phased through the high ceiling.  
  
Chloe let go of Kitty and Kitty just kept on phasing through the floor and down into the next level of the house. Remy caught his screaming little sister in his arms and grinned and Rouge who had a totally freaked out look on her pale face. "Some tin like dat chere." Remy said to the Goth as he flashed her a flirtatious smile once more.  
  
"I can' go anywhere wit out havin' ta save ya can I?" Remy asked the girl in his arms. "Me? You're the one that needed saving. Mom told you that you should never pick fights with strangers." Remy looked at her and rolled his eyes. He looked to Rouge again and couldn't help but letting out a small laugh at the state of confusion she was in. "Whoa! What's the matter with her?" Chloe asked Remy as he looked from her older brother to the Goth. "She's jus' surprised to see ya Petite Soeur." Gambit replied.  
  
He turned from Rouge to his little sister and looked her up and down a few times. "You got any scrapes o' cuts from de way ova here?" Remy asked his little sister after a while. "Nope." She replied triumphantly. "Oh well dats good. Cause if ya did Remy may a shown ya pity fo' what ya done to his bike but seein' how ya lookin' pretty healthy I guess I won' havta." Remy said, as he looked down at his little sister more sternly. Chloe pouted and sniffled a little. "I'm sorry Remy, but I was just so worried about you. Please don't get mad." She said half-heartedly with innocence in her voice and a pout on her face. Remy rolled his eyes once more and put his hands up in surrender. "Fine chere. But you not be allowed to use de puppy pout no mo' oui?" "Kay." Chloe said as her face lit up again and flashed her older brother a smile that was almost, if not totally identical to his own trade mark grin.  
  
"Wait a minute. Ya'll know each other? Like personally?" Rouge asked. Now snapping back into reality. "Uh.duh." Chloe answered. "Didn't you tell them who I was Rem?" Chloe and Rouge both turned their attention to the Cajun. "Rem?" Rouge repeated, after hearing the Cajun's apparent nickname. Apparently he was nickname worthy to the girl which made Rouge wonder just how close the two really were. "Musta slipped Remy's mind." Remy answered with a matching innocent grin.  
  
"Tell us what?" The rest of the X-men had assembled back into the doorway or the room and had heard everything sense Chloe phased through with Kitty and Jean was the first to speak up. "Like no way." Kitty piped up from her spot in the crowd. "What, what?" The rest of the X-men looked at her. Kitty had obviously gotten some knowledge out of the conversation that the rest had apparently missed. "You like just called her Petite Soeur." Kitty addressed Gambit. She had taken a few French lessons over the summer last year. "But that would mean." Kitty trailed off and looked from Remy to Chloe a few times.  
  
"Kitty spit it out vill you?" "Yeah man. Tell us what's up Pryde." Kurt and Evan said as they annoyed her for some answers. Kitty's face cracked into a small, than larger smirk. "Of course. Why didn't I see it before? It's like so totally obvious." Kitty continued. "The hair color, the smile, the similar features. Though I guess it was the accent differences that threw me off." Kitty was smiling so much that her face was likely to peel. "HALF PINT!!!!!" Kitty looked over her shoulder to see an impatient Logan looking down at her. "Just tell us will ya." He said. This time it was Chloe who decided to speak up.  
  
"Oh I'm like totally sorry. Remy, the moron, forgot to mention that I'm. well. his sister." She looked around at the looks of astonishment on the mutant's faces. She than looked back at Remy. "What is it with the people around here? Is it something I did?" She asked her brother. "Non chere. Mo' like some tin u said." He smirked at the astonished looks around the room.  
  
"Whoa, whoa hold on one second. You mean to tell me that this kid is related to him?" Logan turned to the Professor. "Indeed it does." Xavier said. "You didn't tell them I was your sister?" Chloe asked her brother. "No reason to." Remy answered. Now what's dis Remy be hearin bout you tinkin de petites got powers? Remy asked, turning to Xavier and Logan. "You mean you didn't tell him?" Xavier asked Chloe who had suddenly made herself extreamly small and out of the picture. "She don' got powers monami." He told the Professor.  
  
"Does she?" He asked, only now looking straight at his little sister and waiting for her to give him a straight answer. "Well I." She stuttered. "Chloe?" He asked. "Well it was only once and it only happened like a week ago and hasn't happened sense." She told her older brother. "And it's not my fault he got electrocuted. How was I supposed to know he would get electrified?" She asked him in annoyance. This was all very new to her and she thought he was being pretty harsh.  
  
"Wait, wait! What's dis bout electrocutin' somebody? Merde you do got yo' powers don' ya?" He asked his sister, looking very stressed and irritated. "And he says I'm slow." Chloe whispered to Kitty, who giggled at her remark. 'Oh non, who'd you electrocute? If it be a man wit a metal bucket on his head an' a cape or a large cat man in need of a haircut den we gotta split." He told her, jumping to conclusions about the Acolytes. He grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her to the door. "Remy what the hell are you babbling about?" Chloe asked him as she yanked her wrist out of his grip. "De man you used yo' powers on. Who was he?" Remy asked impatiently.  
  
"Oh.well I mighta accidentally electrocuted the mail man." She said with an innocent voice. "You what? Merde. Is dat why we aint been gettin' de mail fo' de past week?" Remy asked with an annoyed look on his face as he put his fingers up to his temples to decrease the headache that was already at a high level of pain.  
  
"Don't get mad at me. Its not my fault it happened." She shouted. "Oui but it be yo' fault you didn't stay in de apartment like Remy told ya." He shouted back. "I'm fifteen. You can't expect me to stay cooped up in that apartment all day while you get to go out and do Who knows what with God knows who." She yelled at him.  
  
"Ahem." Xavier cleared his throat, which silenced the two siblings. Excuse me. I don't want to brake up this little sibling session of yours but I would like to have a talk with the two of you." Xavier spoke up.  
  
END OF CHAPTER  
  
Disclaimer: I forgot about the disclaimer. I don't own any of the X-men Duh! Well I mean apart from Chloe but she's not really an X-man. Have any of you actually seen a Disclaimer that says that the writer DOES own any of the X-men?  
  
Hey Readers  
  
Thanx for the reviews  
  
I'm glad u gave me suggestionsonly I've been like really busy and all with school so I hope u liked this chapter  
  
Thanx for the reviews once again  
  
PLEASE REVIEW AGAIN  
  
Weather u liked the chapter or not  
  
Thought it could use some help? Review  
  
Thought it was good? Review  
  
I'm ready for advice to help make it better for readers like you  
  
Thanks everyone  
  
Review Please!  
  
-AngieX 


	4. Stay

Hi People!  
  
Okay I'm like answering some review questions first!  
  
Lulu- Okay I knew somebody was going to eventually ask me the questions about the accent being different and how they got separated from his family and all those fun little questions but to tell you the truth I can't tell you just yet. I have the answer to them all but its coming up in future chapters. That's all I can tell you for now. Hope that's enough!  
  
The Rouge Witch- Glad you like it so far. Hope you like this chapter as well. There will be a lot of Romy in here but not in this chapter unfortunately.  
  
Moranar- If you liked the sibling arguments and everything then your reading the right fic. Be prepared for more.  
  
Rouge Worrior Spirit- Romyness is a major thing with me so its gonna happen a lot throughout the fic. That's the major and main relationship that I'm focusing on in my fic.  
  
Shadow-fire- You really think my accents are good? Thanks! I have such problems with them. And the spelling mistakes are usually from the accents and missing the mistakes because of so many accent things getting in the way of the real spelling mistakes.  
  
Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter  
  
Now on with this one!  
  
CHAPTER 4  
  
Stay  
  
"NON! Absolutely not. De Petite an me got no place bein here." Remy told the professor. "He's askin her, not you bub." Logan said as he approached Gambit who was a little too close to the Professor for Logan's comfort.  
  
"It's alright Logan. Remy I understand that you want to protect your sister and by all means I want the same, but Chloe needs help. She needs to be around other people like herself. People who can help her learn to live with her powers and work on controlling them." Xavier explained. He looked from Remy to Chloe.  
  
Chloe had said nothing. "What do you think of all this Miss Le beau?" Charles asked the young girl. "I think.She stuttered. "I think." She said again, looking from Logan to the Professor to her older brother a few times. "I think." She tried out loud for the final time. 'I think I'm not ready to answer that question just yet.' She told the Professor telepathically, remembering that he could read minds. Gambit saw his little sister looking at Xavier and Xavier nodding to her. "You see dat. She already be keepin' tings from Remy an' tellin' em to de old man instead." Remy announced to the room as he saw what was going on.  
  
"Chloe leave da room. I gotta have a lil' chat wit da nice people." Remy ordered his little sister, not taking his eyes off Xavier. "But." Chloe argued. "Now Petite." He demanded more sternly this time. She turned to leave the room, but stopped and went back to her brother's side. She reached into his Trench coat pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. "Just to be safe." She told them as she turned and left the room, shutting the door behind.  
  
Logan smirked at the fact that Gambit's little sister knew a little about the way the Cajun's mind worked and about the way Gambit acts when he's angry. "Looks like she knows ya pretty well Cajun." Logan told the boy, the smirk fading a bit into a glare. "Look Monsuer Xavier, I don' wan' Chloe growin' up in dis kinda place." He stated firmly. "And what exactly don't you like about this kind of place?" Charles asked him calmly.  
  
Remy let out a deep sigh and put his hand on his forehead, trying to explain. "You take care a dees kids like dere yer own. Remy knows dat, but Chloe aint yours. She's mine, an' I be de one dats gotta make de decisions dat Remy tinks is best fo' de fille. An' he's positive dat bein' at dis school o' yours is de last ting dat would be best fo' her." Remy explained, looking up at the two men. "And why is that Cajun? You think takin' her ta Magneto would be a better way for her to grow up?" Logan asked, with a little irritation showing in his voice. "Non, Remy not say dat." Remy shot back at Logan with a scowl of his own. "Professa' you got a good ting goin' here. Mutants kids dat don' got nowhere to go be taken in by ya. But ya gotta undastand. Chloe got somewhere to go." Remy told him.  
  
"With you? Doesn't seem like a great way to live your teen years to me." Logan growled. "Dats it you barbaric canine. You wanna fight wit Gambit, You gonna get a fight wit Gambit." Gambit stood, charging up a stray card he'd had in his other pocket that the girl had missed. "That's enough, both of you." The Professor scolded.  
  
The rest of the X-men had left the room a few minutes before Chloe was told to leave. "Man what do you think their doing in there?" Evan asked Kurt. "Trying to kill each other." Came Chloe's whispered voice over by the closed door. "And I'd be able to hear what they were saying if you'd all be a little quieter." She shot at Evan, not really meaning to come off so harsh, and returning to her position of her ear pressed up against the door so she could hear more clearly.  
  
Storm was in the room with the other adults. "Xavier I don' wan' Chloe havin' ta deal wit da stuff dat you an' Magneto put dees kids trough. Both o' you got em trainin' an' practicin' ta kill de other's team. I seen how de X-men an' da Brotherhood be actin' aroun' each other. Even if dey don' be doin nuttin wrong. You got em on rival sides. An you got em usin dere powers against one an other. If deres one ting Gambits gonna make sure of, it's dat Chloe non gonna grow up like dat. She non gonna use her powas against other mutants, or humans. De fille gonna be as normal as possible. She shouldn't have ta deal wit any o' dis. Not wit de tings she been goin' trough lately." Remy finished.  
  
"And who the hell died and made you boss a her?" Logan shouted at the Cajun. The more Gambit and Wolverine argued the louder it got. Logan's last comment was pretty loud, plus it had a growl to it that Remy lacked. "MY PARENTS!" Remy let out in a way too loud yell. Xavier had already learned this information when He had read Remy's mind before hand and was hoping that Logan would not push the boy into the subject just yet. There was silence for a moment. "In a car accident last month. Dey put Chloe in Remy's protection an' Remy intends on keepin' her dere. There was silence for another minute. Logan had not expected this as a comeback.  
  
Chloe had heard the whole thing. She was now sitting by the door with her back to the wall. She was staring into space and didn't notice the rest of the teens looking at her. She must have started crying because she felt something hot and wet streak down her cheek. Scott went over to her and knelt down beside her. "Hey, you okay?" He asked, wiping away the tear on her face. She said nothing. Though the tears just kept falling. 'Not now, not again. I promised myself I wouldn't cry.' She thought.  
  
"Chloe?" Scott asked when she didn't answer. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes. She sniffled once but then got to her feet. She pushed past him and broke into a sprint as the tears kept falling. She swung open the door and kept running, leaving the front doors wide open.  
  
"Chloe wait." Kitty called from the door. She started to go after her but Kurt grabbed her wrist. "I don't think she vants to talk to any of us right now Keety. She might vant some alone time." He told her. She looked into his eyes and sighed. But what can we do? I mean we can't just like let her run off like that." Kitty argued as she watched the girl's figure fade into the darkness. "Ve can and ve vill." He told her as they went inside and closed the door.  
  
The silence was broken as Scott swung open the door to the office where the meeting was being held. "Scott, what's wrong?" Xavier asked, sensing that Scott was troubled. "Its Chloe." He told them. "She's gone." "What? What do you mean she's gone?" If anyting happens ta her Remy sware he'll." Remy trailed off and released the grip on Scott's jacket which he'd gotten when he stood to face the boy and get the story straight. He walked out of the room without saying a word and out of the house. Logan went toward the door as well but Charles stopped him. "Logan wait. Give him some time. The only way we're going to get Chloe on our side is if Gambit is as well. And chasing after someone who obviously doesn't want to be found right now doesn't seem like the best approach to get a person to like you." Xavier told Logan.  
  
Logan growled something about not wanting the shitty little Cajun to like him and stomped off to the kitchen for a badly needed beer. "Professor?" "Yes Scott?" Xavier answered. "What just happened?" He asked, inquiring about the crying girl and her pissed off older brother. "It's a long story Scott. Why don't you go and get the others and I'll try and explain it to you all at once." He suggested. Scott walked out of the room to gather the others and left Storm and Xavier alone.  
  
"She'll be alright. She's just upset." Storm assured him. "I know. But to tell you the truth I don't think that's all that we have to worry about." Xavier responded, looking out the window into the night skies.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Okay I've got good news and bad news.  
  
Bad news being that I'm sorry but the next chapter will be short.  
  
Good news being that the chapter after that is going to be a lot longer and I'm not waiting a week just to put up a short chapter so its going to be up soon, like as in possibly tomorrow! Thanx!  
  
Authors note- Okay I am like soooo totally sorry that I didn't have Romy in this chapter but don't worry because its definitely going to be happening in the next one and more to come.  
  
Well?  
  
NE Comments?  
  
Good or bad? Questions as well if u got confused or something.  
  
I need reviews and am not writing until I get some.  
  
That is if you want me to keep writing.  
  
Also another good reason for you to review to tell me if I'm doing a good job and you want more or if I'm just wasting my time on this fic.  
  
Review ASAP okay!  
  
Next chapter will be up as soon as I get some good reviews for this one and can make the chapter better.  
  
Thanx for reading  
  
Hope ya'll enjoyed it.  
  
Romy goodness coming up if u review quickly and tell me if u want it or not. -AngieX 


	5. Meet the Family

I am so seriously sorry for like not posting the review sooner but for some reason the stupid net kept kicking me off.  
  
Next chapter will be posted As soon as I get some reviews!  
  
First of all let's get started by Answering Reviews!  
  
Thanx for all the peeps who reviewed to me. Just so you know, every time I post a chapter up, I'll be answering all the questions that any of my reviewers asked me before the chapter starts so if u have Ne questions in future chapters or are confused about something now then don't hesitate to ask with a review.  
  
Moranar- I'll try and take your advice with the chapters maybe like in later chapters. Some future chapters of mine are already pretty much done so I don't want to change much unless I have to.  
  
Ishandahalf- Yes there will be Romy in my chapters. It's the biggest relationship in the story, at least for now. But sadly I had to edit my chapters a bit for my reviewers and all so there will be no Romy in this chapter. The next chapter however is a totally different story. Very much Romy!  
  
CHAPTER 5 Meet the Family  
  
"Petite wait." Gambit yelled after his little sister who had run into the woods outside Xavier's property. He stopped running and bent over, trying not to collapse from over doing it on the running and panting loudly. He heard a twig snap behind him. "Chloe dat you?" Remy asked, tilting his head up. Standing in front of him was a very large and very pissed off looking Sabretooth.  
  
"I'm done playing catch up with you boy." Bigfoot said. "Merde." Was all the Cajun said under his breath before he reached into his Trench coat pocket to pull out a card. Unfortunately Chloe had taken them at the Mansion and left him with nothing to charge. 'I knew dat fille gonna be de end a me.' "Time to come with me Cajun. Magneto's been sendin us on wild goose chases all over the place lookin' fer you." He growled. "Hmm.not sure if Remy should be honored or aggravated." Remy told his aggressor.  
  
"Nobody walks away from Magneto as easy as you did. You should know that kid." He told the Cajun. "If you got away with walking out on him than all the other little punks like you will think they could do it too." The hairy man explained. "So what you gonna do if Remy refuses ta come wit ya?" Gambit asked. "Guess you're about to find out." Sabretooth told him as he approached the young boy.  
  
Remy dodged his first fist and blocked the next few punches easily with a bored look on his face as he leaned against the tree on his elbow and yawned. To the Cajun's surprise, Sabretooth grabbed him around the neck and threw him against another nearby tree. His body fell down onto the ground and Sabretooth reached down to drag him away. A bright, blinding light formed from somewhere behind them and before he knew what had hit him Sabretooth was shocked by a blast of energy and electricity. He stood and shook it off and turned to see its source. Chloe was levitating in the air, surrounded by the bright light and electrically charged energy rays. She looked just as pissed as Sabretooth had before. Her hands formed into fists and were covered in balls of electric bolts. She threw a few at Sabretooth and flung him up into a tree where he stayed a few seconds until the branch broke and he was knocked out temporarily.  
  
"Glad to see me?" She said to her beaten up brother. She still had tear stains on her face but the tears were no longer present and hadn't really shown as much now that her face had a look of anger instead of sadness. Now her face actually looked happy. It was kind of in a mocking 'Ha Ha! I kicked the cat's ass!' smirk. "Looks like you're the one that needs saving this time eh Cajun?" She quirked with a smirk on her face. "Les jus' get ya home okay?" He said as she helped him to his feet. "Oui." She answered in her brother's native language and put his arm around her to help him balance for the first few steps. He shook off the pain a few seconds afterwards though. "But you still gonna be in trouble fo' trashin Remy's bike." He told her as he walked ahead of the girl. Her smirk turned into an annoyed, complaining look. "Aw man. Come on Remy. Can't ya just let it slide this once?" She asked in a sulk and stormed in his direction out of the woods.  
  
"What do you mean he got away?" Magneto's voice boomed through the headquarters of the Acolytes. "He wasn't alone." Sabretooth growled in frustration. "I don't care if the X-men were there to help him. You still should have been able to bring him back." Magneto roared at the hairy beast.  
  
"No, no mate. You got it all wrong." Pyro said, standing up. Magneto looked up from his glare at Creed to hear what the boy had to say. John sat down in the chair next to Creed and Colossus and leaned back in it. "Ol' Remy didn't have help from the X-men. It was his kid sister that beat the crap outta the ferocious feline over here." John said as he and Colossus burst into laughter. This was a highly irregular thing for Colossus to be doing, but he kept remembering Sabretooth when he first walked into the base with his hair all poofy and frizzy from Chloe's electric and static shocks. He reminded the Russian of a recently blown dry, French poodle, only a little less feminine. This thought kept the two boys laughing for some time.  
  
Creed however was not as amused. He grunted and pushed John's chair further back, earning John a blow to the head as he hit the metal floor hard. Colossus continued to laugh but stopped when Creed glared at him as well. "YOU WHAT!?!?!?" Magneto yelled as his rage multiplied. "You let him get away because of a. a. a child?" Magneto boomed again. "I didn't know Gambit had a sister." Colossus said.  
  
"You didn't? Well now that's strange. I figured you all knew, because that's the reason why he." John said but trailed off as he realized his mistake of opening his mouth. "He didn't tell you why he left did he?" John asked, though he already knew the answer.  
  
"You know something about Gambit's disappearance that you haven't let us in on Pyro?" Magneto questioned. The boy had a guilty look on his face. "Ohhhh. Sister? I thought u said blister. Yeah. Ya see mates, Remy had ta leave because he uh. had to go see a specialist about a blister he had on his foot. And you know how picky those bloody Cajuns are about they're medical attention so he went back to New Orleans for a check up. And now I'm guessin he's back." John said. He looked around the room at the blank faces. "Is that the best you can come up with?" Colossus asked with a muffled laugh. John shot him a glare and turned to Magneto to see if he had actually been dense enough to buy his lame story.  
  
Magneto however did not look amused. "Wow look at the time, you know I've got a date with a Sheila in an hour so I'd better leave now and not keep her waiting." John said as he got up and left for the door. The metal doors shut tight inches away from his face. The metal chair was dragged to John and pushed John into falling in it. The chair brought John back over to the table to see an even more pissed off Magneto.  
  
"Now.Let's try this again shall we?" Magneto said with an evil look on his face. John sighed and took a quick glance around the room at all the painful looking, sharp, metal objects nearby. In hopes of not becoming a shish cabob at Magneto's hand he decided to spill what he knew. 'Gambit's gonna kill me.' He thought to himself but was more worried about Magneto more than his friend.  
  
He told the team everything. The car accident, his parents, the girl coming to live with him, and even where he lived. Magneto had the most evil smirk you could imagine plastered on his face. "So Gambit's got a little sister eh?" Magneto asked to no one in particular. "And from what Sabretooth here tells us she's a feisty little mutant herself." Colossus added. "Indeed. She may be just the thing we need. Think about it. If we can't get Gambit, we'll get the closest thing to him. Once we have the girl, we'll have Gambit as well. All we need is to give her a little persuasion in our favor, and she'll be mine." Magneto said with a menacing laugh that brought chills up and down the spines of the Acolytes. Except for Sabretooth of course who was dreading the thought of having a hyperactive little brat running around the place.  
  
Perched on the window sill of the room that Magneto and his Acolytes were having their meeting, sat an unnoticed, black raven. She flapped her wings and took off into the air, her eyes turning a golden color while doing so.  
  
"Jean what's wrong?" Scott asked, seeing the look of horror on her face. "I don't know. I just feel like something bad is about to happen." Jean answered. "It's just everything that's been going on lately. I'm sure everything will be just fine." He assured her, putting his arm over her and leaning into a kiss.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Author's Note: Okay I'm like totally sorry and I know you were wanting some Romyness but I couldn't fit it in to the short one. Next chapter will absolutely, positively definitely have it. Thanx for your patience and all.  
  
How'd you like it?  
  
Good? Bad?  
  
Ne Questions?  
  
What were your thoughts on it?  
  
U know the drill!  
  
Review or I'm not adding the next chapter, which is not only longer but also, filled with Romy goodness!  
  
Thanx  
  
-AngieX 


	6. Rainy Days

Just so you know ******* means that the story is switching to another place and person like from Remy in the apartment to Chloe at the mall.  
  
And XXXXXXX means that the story is done and the rest is Author's notes that I suggest you read as well. That was just incase you didn't know.  
  
Okay I'm finished with Chapter 6! I hope you all enjoy it and everything. Like I always do, I'm now going to answer any questions or comments that you guys wrote me in your last reviews.  
  
Answering Reviews:  
  
Talek- Thanks for the compliments and all. Its good to know that people think I'm doing the accents right and its always good to hear that readers think you have an original writing style. Thank you and I hope to hear from you in reviews in next chapters.  
  
Heartstar- Okay first of all thank you for putting my story on your faves list. I'll be updating probably every Wednesday or when I can and there will be Romy coming up.  
  
Ishandahalf- I'm glad you liked the funny bits in this chapter. I was hoping someone would write in and tell me what they thought about them. I'm doing as much Romy as I can but I have to lay it on like small bits at a time cause Rouge's all closed off and Remy's gotta work on her!  
  
Thanks for all you others who reviewed. Ask me a question and I'll answer it before the next chapter!  
  
Now on with the story!  
  
CHAPTER 6 RAINY DAYS  
  
Remy stepped out of the shower, releasing a vast amount of steam in the process. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. "Petite? You still dere?" Remy called through the small-sized apartment. He walked into his room and closed the door behind him to get dressed. His eyes landed on a note taped to his mirror.  
  
"Dear Rem,  
  
Jean and Kitty are taking me out and showing me around Bayville today. Don't wait up. I should be back around 4:00 or something. If you need to reach me than just call Jean's cell or the institute. They're both in my phone book by the couch. That means emergencies only. Not calling every five minutes to make sure I'm still breathing. This way you can go out today and I won't be stuck sitting around the apartment. Catch ya later Rem!  
  
Chloe!"  
  
"Well at least she be makin' some new friends." He said aloud to himself as he put down the paper and flipped on the radio to full volume. He apparently had it playing too loud because he hadn't heard the phone ringing off the hook.  
  
************  
  
"Come on mate pick up. I know you're there. Get up and answer the phone." Pyro said into the phone as he let it ring for the seventh time. He had to contact Remy before Magneto got to Bayville or else his Cajun friend was as good as dead.  
  
"You wouldn't be making a call to a certain X-Acolyte Cajun now would you?" Colossus asked, leaning on the doorframe of the room with his arms folded in front of his chest.  
  
"Not likely mate. I wouldn't be calling Gambit. No way." John babbled as he quickly slammed the phone down on the receiver.  
  
************  
  
"Allo?" Remy asked into the phone as he waited for an answer. He heard a click and then nothing but silence. "Damn prank callers." He mumbled to himself as he went back into his room.  
  
He hadn't even gotten a chance to take his towel off when he had first heard the phone ring from the next room. After Remy got dressed, he dried his hair, picked up his bike from the repair shop and went out for a ride.  
  
***************  
  
"Oh Jean try this one on." Chloe insisted, holding up a tight-fitting yellow shirt that had very little back and cut off at her belly button. "I don't think so. It's just not.me." Jean said, eyeing the tiny piece of cloth with fear of change and showing too much skin. "That's like totally the reason you've got to try it on." Kitty told her friend. "It doesn't have to be you. It just has to look good on you. So move it Miss Grey. I want to see you in a like totally different look." "Alright, alright." Jean gave up and took the nearest dressing room to her right.  
  
"This is so much fun Kitty. Thanks again for inviting me to the mall with you guys. Bayville seems like such a nice place." Chloe told her new friend as they waited for Jean to come out and model her outfits. "Oh like no problem Chloe. Besides, if we hadn't then you would have been cooped up in that apartment of yours for like ever." Kitty giggled.  
  
"Yeah. Remy can be a little too over protective sometimes." She told Kitty. Kitty gave her a doubtful look. "Okay so almost all the time." Chloe confessed. "Yeah but I guess its like sweet in a way sense he's just trying to like take care of you and everything right?" Kitty asked. "Yeah I guess so." Chloe said with a sigh.  
  
"But your right. There are a whole lot of great sites in Bayville that you haven't seen yet." Kitty told her friend. "Yeah, and I'm looking at a group of them right now." Chloe whispered to the valley girl in a giggle.  
  
Kitty looked over to where Chloe was looking and immediately caught site of the group of teenage boys by the sports equipment. "Chloe the one in the baseball cap is so like totally checking you out." Kitty told her without pointing or drawing attention to herself. "You think? No that's doubtful. He's probably just looking at some other girl in the background." Chloe concluded with a lack in self-confidence.  
  
"No way. He's so like checking you out. So go talk to him already, why don't you? What are you like waiting for? An invitation?" Kitty asked sarcastically as she elbowed her friend in the ribs and pushed her gently towards the guy's direction. The boy in the baseball cap was now away from the rest of his group and looking at random items on the shelves near the girls.  
  
When Chloe was nudged forward she accidentally fell into him, knocking the CD's in his hands to the ground. "Oh man, I am so totally sorry. I'm such a spaz." She said to him apologetically as she blushed furiously from embarrassment and turned on the Le beau Charm for him. This was something that came genetically obviously. She didn't even know she was doing it half the time.  
  
"Oh no, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm Conner by the way." He told her, helping her to her feet from when she bent down to pick up the CD's. "Chloe Le beau." She said, exchanging her name for his. She took his hand and was lifted up to her feet by his surprisingly strong arms. It didn't look like he had too much muscle on him but it was clear that he could definitely fend for himself.  
  
She handed him back his CD's and he put them in his bag. She saw a stray CD that she had missed and picked it up. "Barney the Dinosaur's sing along songs?" She raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Its not what you think. My kid sister is having her fourth birthday party today and she's obsessed with the giant, purple fossil so I got her this for her party." He explained. "So your not a Barney fan yourself?" She asked sarcastically. "Not particularly." His friends were all trying not to burst out laughing after seeing the events that had taken place.  
  
She handed him the last CD and their hands met for a split second before they each pulled away. "Thanks. Hey are you in High School, because I don't think I've seen you at Bayville High." Conner asked her.  
  
"Um.well I'm supposed to. I just moved here about a week or two ago and I haven't exactly had the chance to get up and go to school. Nor did I remotely want to. You'll probably be seeing me soon though." She assured him.  
  
A smile formed on his face. "Good. That's good." He said, a bit shyly. "Yeah, good." She agreed in a quiet tone.  
  
"Tada!" Jean announced sarcastically as she walked out of the curtained dressing room. "Hey what gives? I finally try on this outfit after your guys practically force it on me and now that I've tried it on your not even going to pay attention?" Jean asked, a little irritated. Her eyes trailed over to where Kitty was looking. Chloe was flirting with a boy on the other side of the store.  
  
"Wow, that's what I call fast." Jean let out. "Tell me about it. All I did was like push her over there and she totally did the rest. Actually he and she did the rest. They've totally got a thing for each other." Kitty told her as they looked at the two with amusement.  
  
"Well at least she's getting attention from the guys." Jean said as she thought about Scott being in Hawaii with Alex for the rest of the weekend. "Aw cheer up Jean. Scott'll be back in a few days." Kitty assured her.  
  
"Hey, looks like Chloe's not the only one being checked out. Look who's getting stared at." Jean said. Kitty turned around to see the group of guys the first boy came from and saw that one of them was looking directly at her." Kitty's face blushed furiously.  
  
The boy came over to her and asked her if she needed help finding anything. He had a nametag on so he obviously worked there and was just on his brake with his friends. "Oh um like no thanks. I was just waiting for my friend." She told him, pointing over to where Chloe and his friend were.  
  
"Yeah, Conner's got it bad for this one." He said, looking at his friend. Kitty giggled slightly which for some reason was a turn on to the boy. "I'm David by the way." He told her. "What did you say your name was?" He asked. "I didn't, and it's Kitty." She said, batting her eyelashes a bit.  
  
"Hey, I don't usually do this but. I was wondering if you'd maybe.you know.want to possibly. go out one night.with me?" He finally got out after pausing at every other word from being nervous. "Really? Um like wow, I wasn't really expecting." She thought about it for a minute.  
  
'Go ahead Kitty. Go for it.' Jean told her telepathically. 'Jean like get out of my head. I can make up my own mind.' Kitty answered her in Jean's head. 'Sure you can.' Jean said as she left Kitty's mind and went back to watching the two talk.  
  
"Well." Kitty said as she looked into the boy's crystal blue eyes. "Why not? Like I'd totally love to go out with you some time." Kitty answered after a long pause, which made the boy nervous enough.  
  
The boy let out a sigh of relief. "Really? Great! Here's my phone number." He told her, writing it down on a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to her." "Cool! Like here's mine." She said, writing hers on another piece of torn paper.  
  
**************  
  
Rouge sat down on the grass by an over-sized oak tree in the park with her latest novel. This was one of her favorite places to go when she wanted some alone time, which was something she seldom got, living in a mansion with more than six other kids. She got so wrapped up in her book that she didn't even notice when someone stood in front of her, mere inches away.  
  
"Allo Chere. Didn' tink Remy'd be seein you ere." Gambit said, with an emensley large grin plastered to his face. "Ya mind if Remy sit down?" He asked, sitting down at the same time.  
  
"Would it really matter if ah said yes?" She asked. "Non, probably not." He said, scooting closer to the Goth. "Why you be out ere all by ya self chere?" He asked as he put an arm around her shoulder.  
  
"No reason. Just like it here ah guess." She told him. The Professor had told them all to be nice and set a good example for Chloe and Gambit of the X-men, which meant that Rouge couldn't insult, injure, or ignore the Cajun. The three I's she wanted to do most of all when it came to the perverted Swamp Rat.  
  
Remy was using the slightest bit of empathy so she was unaware that his arm was so close. It also fogged her mind a little. "Ah just love the view from here that's all. Ah mean isn't it beautiful?" She asked the boy. It was apparent that he had no thoughts of leaving so she'd might as well make the best of it.  
  
"Oui Chere. It be de most beautiful ting Remy eva seen." He told her. Only he was looking straight at her when he said it and was obviously referring to Rouge, not Mother Nature.  
  
This caused Rouge to blush, which only showed vaguely through her pale makeup. She could feel the heat that his body was giving off and for some strange reason she felt drawn toward it.  
  
The empathy wore off and Rouge realized how close they were. She stood up and walked over to the pond. "You runnin' away from Gambit chere?" He asked her with puppy dog eyes that couldn't be seen very well through his sunglasses.  
  
"Not runnin Cajun. Unlike ya'll Ah have places ta be. Like trainin sessions with Logan." She told him, still walking away. It was of course a lie. Logan wouldn't be assigning danger room sessions on a Saturday like this. Hell, he'd be out having a beer somewhere as far away from the kids as possible.  
  
Remy went after her and snaked his arm around her waist as he walked beside her. She flinched a little but she was safely covered so she wasn't too worried about getting the Cajun's thoughts stuck in her head.  
  
Never the less she didn't want the boy that close to her. She wasn't his girlfriend or anything. And she didn't want people to talk or get the wrong idea. She pulled herself away from the boy and took a step to the right of him. He smirked and took the same step. 'Fine by me. I love it when they play hard to get. Besides, I'm up for the challenge.' He thought to himself, only in French of course.  
  
He pulled her auburn hair back gently to the left side of her head and he blew on her bare neck and whispered into her ear in French. This always made the girls melt in his arms. It sent chills going up and down her spine like crazy.  
  
'What am Ah doin? Ah gotta stay strong. Ah can't let him get ta me. He's only tryin ta mess with meh.' She told herself over and over again. Though she was slipping farther and farther away from her strong principles and her urge to hold back every time he did some thing.  
  
Remy turned her around so that he was looking at her face and she was, his. "Petite, why you pull away from Remy?" He asked her, putting a gloved hand on her chin and lifting her head so she had to look at him.  
  
He was too close and she wanted more than anything to pull away from him but his arms had made their way around her waist and she couldn't move. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few seconds before she broke the connection.  
  
"Ah really gotta.Ah gotta go." She said, pulling away from him and turning around. "Oh but mon chere, Remy don' wan' de beautiful fille to leave." He said, putting an arm over her shoulder. He figured she'd make some insult or push him away but his arm stayed where he'd left it.  
  
Gambit was surprised and pleased at this. 'She didn't pull away or try ta knock me out this time.' He thought to himself with a huge smirk plastered on his face.  
  
They were silent for a minute, but a loud roar of thunder and a flash of lightening broke the silence. The lightening was followed by buckets of pouring rain to the point where Rouge couldn't even see her hands in front of her face.  
  
"Damn it." She cursed over the rainfall. "Ah knew ah shoulda brought mah umbrella." She said aloud to no one in particular. It was cold and wet, and Rouge's make up had completely washed off her face. The rain was coming down so fast and hard that it didn't even smear. It just ran off completely.  
  
She felt her body shiver as the wind passed through her soaked clothes and onto her skin.  
  
She was trembling all over. Then she felt the warmth return to her body as a long trench coat covered her. She wouldn't have minded so much that the Cajun was helping her; only he too was wrapped up in the trench coat with her.  
  
She would have pulled away but it was freezing and she didn't want to get any wetter then she already was. Besides, she had to admit that it was pretty comfortable being so close to him like that. Her whole body was covered so she had nothing to worry about in the sense of touching him.  
  
"Ah gotta get back ta tha institute." She told him. He looked down at her through his sunglasses and laughed a little. "Sorry Chere. Non can do. Remy's bike only got enough gas left in it ta get him home, if even dat far." He explained. "Than ah guess I'll just have ta walk home." She said, stepping out of the warmth, comfort, and dryness of the trench coat.  
  
Remy walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her back inside the coat and was now closer to her than he was before. "Sorry chere, but Remy can't let ya do dat." He told her.  
  
"An' why not?" She asked, though she hadn't pulled away from his embrace. "Cause he neva gonna be able to fo'give himself if de fille gets sick from walkin home in de storm." He told her.  
  
"You wait at Remy's place till de storm dies down, or one o' de X-men comes an' gets ya oui?" He asked, only it was more of a command. "Fahn." She said as she rolled her eyes. "Great!" He said.  
  
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to his bike as if carrying her over the thresh hold. "What tha hell do ya'll think yer doin?" She asked, clearly shocked and pissed at the Cajun's actions.  
  
"Remy can't walk wit ya standin in his coat so you gonna have ta deal wit it till we get ta de bike." He told her, trying not to flaunt the huge smile on his face to Rouge.  
  
Rouge let out a tired, and annoyed sigh in surrender. He put her down on his bike and she felt herself being wrapped up in the coat once again. She looked over at Remy who was now coatless because he had given his to Rouge.  
  
Rouge tried to give it back to him but he wouldn't take it and if he wasn't going to use it then she wasn't going to make him. She sat on the bike as he climbed on in front of her.  
  
"Jus' be tankful Remy was able to get his bike fixed so soon after what Chloe done to it on her way ta de institute last night." He told her, looking back to see if she was secured on the bike. Rouge laughed a little at this, remembering the details of what the girl had done to Remy's motorcycle on her way over and how broken up Remy had gotten over it all.  
  
Remy stepped on the pedal and off they went. Rouge wasn't ready for this and had to wrap her arms around the Cajun's waist in order to keep from falling off. He felt it and smirked.  
  
He then pushed on the pedals even harder, making her grab on even tighter and get even closer to the biker boy. "Yer doin that on purpose." She shouted over the roar of the engine and the pouring rain. "Non." He told her. "Dat was de normal speed.Dis be on purpose." He said, shifting a gear on his bike and pressing down on the pedals the hardest they went.  
  
The bike sped way faster then it was supposed to and Rouge had to cling onto the Cajun for dear life. Remy was enjoying this.  
  
They came to a stop and Remy got off the bike and picked Rouge up again, carrying her into the apartment building.  
  
***************  
  
"Aw man you've got to be kidding me." Chloe said as she stepped out of the mall and under a ledge to keep dry from the pouring rain in front of her. "We're gonna like walk home in this? No way!" Kitty complained. "Jean try and call the institute on your cell will ya?" Kitty suggested.  
  
"I did already. The batteries are dead and Scott can't pick us up because he's still in Hawaii remember?" She told the younger girl. "So I guess we're stuck here until the rain like stops huh?" Kitty asked the two girls.  
  
"Well we could just go back inside right?" Chloe suggested. "Wrong." Jean argued. "The mall is closing early today remember? Some kind of inspection or something. Either way it closes at two and its 1:45 now. Jean told the other two.  
  
"So what, do we like wait out the storm here or do we get soaked and drenched at an attempt to make it back to the institute without drowning from all the rain?" Kitty asked Jean. Chloe spoke up before Jean had a chance to answer. "Neither." She told them. "Huh?" "Come again?" The other two girls asked in confusion.  
  
"This is the Bayville mall right?" Chloe asked, though she was almost 100% sure it was. "Right. But what does that have to do with anything?" Jean asked in confusion. "Well.Remy told me that if I got lost than I should just remember that we live two blocks down from the Bayville mall on Maple Avenue." She told the two girls. "I know where that is." Kitty acknowledged. That's like about a ten minute walk from here." She spoke again. "Exactly! You two can crash at my house until the storm lightens up and you can call Xavier and tell him where you are when we get there." Chloe concluded.  
  
"Sounds good to me." Kitty said, starting to get the chills from not moving in the cold. "Well.I don't know. This doesn't seem like something the professor would want us doing unless we asked first." Jean told Kitty. "Oh Come on Jean. I'm like freezing over here." Kitty complained. "And I'm sure the last thing Xavier would want would be for two of his X-men to get the flu just because they couldn't stay at a friend's house for a while." Chloe added. "But what about Gambit?" Jean asked Chloe.  
  
"Okay first of all his name's Remy not Gambit. Secondly, my brothers gonna be out all day running errands and getting his bike fixed from the little.accident it was in the other night." Chloe confirmed.  
  
"Well." Jean paused for a moment before looking at her shivering valley girl friend. "Alright fine, but we call the professor as soon as we get there." Jean told them. "Great. Now lets make a brake for the next ledge around the corner." Chloe said. They all agreed and took off at a fast pace towards the dryer areas of the sidewalk.  
  
They were having so much fun running around in the rain and dodging raindrops that they hadn't noticed the two figures above them on a nearby garage roof. "Should we nab her here?" Colossus asked Sabretooth who was not a happy camper when wet. "No. There's too many places for a little girl to hide out in public like this. We get her when she's in that little apartment they've been holding up in." Sabretooth told him. "What about the other two?"  
  
Colossus asked, looking down at the young girls that were having fun splashing around in the rain. "We'll take em along. Magneto might have something in mind for em." Sabretooth told him. Those were the last words that were spoken in that conversation. The two Acolytes followed the girls, jumping from rooftop to rooftop without the teens noticing their presence.  
  
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Okay so how was it?  
  
I've got a question for you all.  
  
What do you think of Chloe's character? Answer with a review if please!  
  
I know the Romyness was a little confusing with weather she wanted it or not but that was partially because he put the empathy on her and plus. duh he's Remy. Who could resist? Neways how did ya'll like it? Good? Bad? Didn't care? Just want more Romy? Less Romy? You tell me in a review and I'll tell you by making the next chapters better. Any questions about the chapter? You ask them and I'll answer ALL of them in my next update like I always do. Unless of course it would totally give something away. Then I'll have to see what I can do.  
  
I need at least five reviews before I start my next chapter. I mean I may just start it anyways but I'm hoping that I can have four reviews before I post the next updated chapter. I'm feeling writer's block so I need your reviews as inspiration okay? Cross your fingers I don't still have writer's block and.oh yeah REVIEW PLZZZ!!!!!  
  
Thanx for reading and Reviewing!  
  
-Later!  
  
-AngieX 


	7. Running Again

Hey Ya'll!  
  
Thanx for all of you for reviewing and reading. Hope you like my next chapter. Next time I'm probably not going to update until I get at least five reviews. More would be better but the more reviews I get, the more inspired I'll be and the faster the next chapter gets loaded.  
  
Well you guys know the drill. I answer questions and comments before the chapter so.  
  
Goldylokz- Okay first of all thank you for giving your opinion on Chloe. Only two people did. Secondly, okay I just have to say how freaky it is that you would tell me about the wet clothes incident because right before I read your review I had just written the chapter's part about Rouge in Remy's clothes, but I guess its not all that weird because it is a pretty common cliché right? You telling me to write that just made me more confident to keep it in the chapter cause I wasn't sure if I should keep that part or not.  
  
Classic Tinker- I was really happy to get a review from you. especially a positive one. I took your advice and I thank you because it made a difference in my story and made it better like with the indentation and all.  
  
Thanks for answering me about Chloe. Means a lot to me, though I'm not exactly sure what you mean by making her character development. I know what it means but in what ways would you have it? Oh and just so you know, I don't want to give it away but your assumptions were pretty much on the button. Review again if you would plz. Thanx again!  
  
Thank you everyone who read and took the time to review. You guys rock! (Though you'd rock more if I got more reviews!)  
  
Enjoy the chapter and plzzzzzzzzzzzzz review!  
  
CHAPTER 7  
  
Running again  
  
Rouge stood in the kitchen, wringing the water out of her hair as it dripped down onto the tiles. She was wearing her sports bra and her still soaked jeans. She had a towel draped over her shoulders and was starting to dry up.  
  
Remy stepped out of his room, wearing the clothes he'd been wearing out in the rain. His soaking wet clothes were clinging to him, outlining his biceps and making him look even hotter than he already did.  
  
'Damn!' Rouge thought in spite of herself at seeing him. She looked down at the water dripping from her hair so Remy wouldn't see her staring at him. He had looked up just in time to though. Remy smirked at this before turning the television on. "Jus' waitin ta get a fo'cast fo' de weather." He told her when she looked up.  
  
"We'll be having rain, rain, and yep you guessed it. More rain. Expect flooding in the Bayville area. Schools will probably be closed on Monday if this rain keeps up at the rate it's going at. We severely suggest you stay indoors and high and dry for a while."  
  
That was all that they heard the woman on the weather channel say before it switched to a commercial. Remy took off his shirt and wiped off his chest with a towel. Rouge looked up and saw his actions and blushed.  
  
Her gloves were soaked as well. "Let Remy have de gloves." He told her. "What?" She asked, looking shocked. "Give Remy de gloves. He gonna put em in de dryer fo' ya." He explained. "Oh. Um.Ah don't think that's such a good idea." She told him, looking at her covered hands self-consciously "Relax petite. Remy be careful not ta touch kay?" Gambit told her, giving her a reassuring smile.  
  
She hesitantly took off her gloves and carefully handed them to him. He himself had already taken off his gloves. He smiled at her and left the room. He came back empty handed. "It should take a few minutes fo' dem ta dry." He told her.  
  
She nodded in response, turning her shoulder a little to the left. "Ow!" She moaned. Remy looked up and noticed the bruise on her left shoulder. "You okay chere?" He asked, coming closer to her. "Yeah, Ah'm fine. Just a little sore that's all." She told him as he examined the injury that she had tried not to notice. She was already mad at herself for blushing and letting it show that she was in pain with the moan.  
  
"How'd ya get dat bruise on yo' arm anyway?" He asked. "Oh, Ah fell off a roof." She told him like it was no big deal. At least to her it wasn't. His eyes widened in shock. "COME AGAIN?" He was surprised that she had fallen off a roof and only gotten one small bruise on her shoulder. "Oh you don't understand. It wasn't a real roof. It was a battle simulation so I really only fell about ten feet or so." She explained.  
  
Remy sighed. "Dis is why Remy don' wan' Chloe growin up in a place like dat. I don' wan' her ta have ta deal wit all dis." He told her. "Ya can't protect her Remy. She's gonna have ta learn to live her life by herself sooner or later or she'll never be able to go out into tha real world." Rouge argued. "Wanna bet." He asked, looking at her with a small grin. Rouge rolled her eyes. "She's a teenage girl. You know what teenage girls are like. Lord knows you've dated enough of em. She's gonna be doin stuff that ya don't want her ta do and dating boys you don't want her ta date and she's gonna fight with ya every chance she gets, but yer gonna have ta deal with it." Rouge told him.  
  
"Unless of course ya'll would come an' live at tha institute. Than she'll have the Prof there ta act like the grown up and you won't have ta." She told him, hinting that it would be a good idea for him to reconsider letting his little sister move in with them.  
  
"Nice try Petite." He told her. He handed her a pair of baggy sweat pants and a T-shirt. "Dis all Remy got fo' ya. Chloe's stuff be a little two small." He explained. She eyed the attire she was being given and sighed in surrender. She really didn't like the idea of wearing the Cajun's clothes but she disliked the idea of freezing to death in the run down apartment in wet clothes even more.  
  
She took the clothes and walked into the bathroom. "Need any help?" He asked. Gambit was answered with a slammed door in his face. "Worth a try, non?" He asked through the wall with a smirk on his face.  
  
A minute later the door opened and she came out wearing Remy's clothes. Remy looked up and sighed. 'How can she look just as hot with Sweats as she does in a sports bra?' He asked himself, smirking all the while.  
  
She walked over to the window and watched the puddles form in the streets. The Goth shivered a little. The heater wasn't exactly working properly. She felt two strong arms wrap themselves around her waist. It was covered completely but she flinched non-the less. She would have pulled away but it was so cold in the room that she could see her own breath.  
  
Rouge stood there in Remy's tight embrace for a few minutes saying nothing, and just looking out the window at the rain. She felt safe and at peace as he held her in his arms. Like the whole world had stopped except for them. Nothing else mattered. Rouge was pulled a little closer to Remy's bare chest and to his surprise she didn't slap him.  
  
Their silence was broken when the doorknob turned from right to left. Both of them turned to look at the door. They could hear muffled grunts on the other side of the door. Someone was trying to break into the apartment.  
  
Just then Gambit's beeper went off. It read, "Mags knows-Get out." It was from John. "Merde. Mags knows Gambits here." He murmured under his breath. Rouge heard it though. "He WHAT? But that would mean." She trailed off and turned to the door. "It's him. We gotta get outta here now." She told Remy, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the door.  
  
"Deres no otter way out monami." We gotta fight our way out." He explained. "Alright fine." She said, readying her bare hands for anything. "Ah knew I shoulda walked home." She mumbled to herself.  
  
They stood together in front of the door in fighting stance, ready to attack. Remy had fired up a card and Rouge was getting ready to kick the ass of whoever decided to barge in.  
  
The doorknob stopped turning for a moment. The door was locked and they couldn't get in. Then all of a sudden a field of electricity surround the doorframe. "No, no wait!" A female voice was heard on the other side of the door.  
  
The field faded away and three very wet, and tired looking mutant girls phased through the door. They almost passed out once they got inside. They didn't even notice Remy and Rouge staring at them. "The next time you want to get into a building or something and you can't, try and remember that Kitty can phase through walls before you blow up the door." Jean suggested, out of breath.  
  
"Ahem." Remy cleared his throat. "Remy? What are you doing here?" Chloe asked. "Well sense Remy be livin here an' all." Remy trailed off. "Yeah but she doesn't." Chloe said, pointing to a cold Rouge. Remy had let go of her and she was feeling the coldness coming back to her body.  
  
"ROUGE????" Jean and Kitty asked in unison. "Like what are you doing here?" Kitty asked, though she didn't wait for an answer. "Oooohhh. I see." Kitty said with a grin on her face. "Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt anything." Chloe said, catching on to what Kitty was thinking. "Oh grow up you guys. I'm sure Rouge has a logical explanation for being here. Right Rouge?" Jean asked her Goth housemate.  
  
Rouge shifted her weight from her right leg to her left, finding herself very uncomfortable with the present situation. "That is.ya see what happened was ah.and then." "Gambit ran into de fille in de park an' seein how it was startin ta rain, Remy offer ta take de femme back to de mansion but he only got enough gas in de tank fo' de ride home." Gambit explained, helping out Rouge. "Yeah, what he said." Rouge added in a mumble that was clear enough to be heard by the other three girls.  
  
"Remy your hands." Chloe shouted, seeing the glowing cards. Remy took note of them and as he calmed down a little, the card's glowing light dimmed. "What did you think we were gonna do? Raid the apartment?" Chloe asked sarcastically, looking over the run down, worthless junk in her home. "No we thought you were Sabretooth." Rouge shot back. "Sabretooth? You mean that over grown feline? How would he know where you were? Chloe turned to her brother for answers. "Dat ova' grown feline gonna be de end a de bof o' us if we don' get outta here." Remy told her, walking into his room and soon returning with a packed suitcase.  
  
"Remy what's up? Why are you avoiding Bigfoot?" She asked. "Pack now, questions later." He told her, throwing her an empty suitcase.  
  
"That still didn't answer my question." She said, shifting her weight. "I'm guessing Magneto didn't appreciate it when Remy just up and left all of a sudden." Jean spoke up. "But how would they like know where you are?" Kitty asked in confusion. "John. Mags musta gotten it outta him afta our little run in wit Sabretooth." Remy concluded.  
  
"You told one o' tha Acolytes where ya'll were? Smooth move genius." Rouge scolded him. "We non got time ta argue. Petite get packed. We're leavin as soon as ya do." He told her, pointing to her stuff.  
  
"What? Leave? But.We just got here. I made friends. Friends that like me for me, and not because their scared my family will come after them if they aren't." She complained. "Plus you've got that date Friday night with that Conner guy remember?" Kitty added.  
  
Jean rolled her eyes. "I don't think we need to be worrying about that right now." Jean said, giving Kitty a 'don't be so immature' look. "Huh? Wait a minute. What's dis bout you havin a date?" He questioned his little sister who replied with a long "uhhh." and looked the other way so Remy didn't see her blushing and looking guilty, but he did. Merde Petite! Remy lets ya outta de apartment fo' one day an' you come back wit a date wit a total stranger? Now we really gotta go." Remy said, thinking about his little sister being not so little anymore. "Told ya." Rouge said, referring to the previous conversation they had about Chloe growing up. "Don' say it." Gambit told her, seeing the smirk on her pale face.  
  
He was actually stressing over all of this. "Where are ya gonna go?" Rouge asked Remy. "Don' know. Remy gonna figure dat out once we on de road." He told her, throwing on a dry shirt.  
  
"Why don't you just stay with us?" Jean offered. "Yeah, like that way Chloe can stay here and you won't have to worry about Magneto getting to you." Kitty added to Remy. "Non. Remy not gonna take dat chance. Mags wan' Remy an he non gonna give up dat easily." He told them. "An' sides, Remy already told ya he don' wan Chloe at de institute." He said firmly, starting to pack up Chloe's bag as well as his own. "But Remy." Chloe whined. "Non Petite. We leavin dis town an' dats dat." The discussion was over.  
  
Chloe knew when it was time to stop arguing with her older brother and she had already crossed that line a while ago. "Sorry, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to let you leave." Sabretooth growled, standing in the open doorway. He was accompanied by Colossus.  
  
Chloe's eyes widened. "Who's that guy?" She whispered to Jean. "That's Colossus." Kitty whispered the answered instead of the telepath. Jean hadn't even glanced at Chloe in response. She just stood there, not taking her glaring eyes off of Sabretooth.  
  
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So? How was it? Good? Bad? Tell me in a review please!  
  
Thanx! Oh and remember, I meant what I said. I'm probably not posting until I get at least five reviews or more. I need inspiration people. Or at least to know that my most recent chapter wasn't a total bust. As always, if you have any questions about the story then feel free to ask. I'll positively answer them the best I can.  
  
I'll try and get the next chapter up by next Tuesday or soon after if all goes well, or maybe even before then but I wouldn't count on it.  
  
Also, I'd like more info on what ya'll think of Chloe's character. Goldylokz and Classic Tinker were the only ones who told me and I need more feed back. Thanx!  
  
Okay people, time to Review! 


	8. Fighting

Hey Readers! Hope you all liked the last chapter. Okay this isn't very long but I'm only making the chapter the fight seen and nothing else. Don't worry though because there will be more monologue, Plot, ships, and all the other good stuff you people read fics for in the next chapter. For now, I hope a fight scene will do.  
  
Now for my reviewers.  
  
Classic Tinker- Okay first off thanks for the detailed review. Secondly, I'm just going to say that Chloe's background and why she doesn't have an accent and all that are all answered in an upcoming chapter. Sry but I cant say anymore then that without ruining it. I'll try and work on her character in the next chapter but this one is mostly the fight seen so I can't really work with Chloe during all the fighting. This is a major fight but don't worry cause there will be many fight scenes to come.  
  
Fllnangel- Ass-kicking you want, ass-kicking you'll get. More chapters will have a lot of it as well.  
  
Lulu- No, there was no skin-on-skin contact between Rouge and Remy. He's still conscious when the chapter ends. But he's Remy, and he's just finding loopholes around the whole untouchable thing like using clothes as a barrier.  
  
Keebler-elmo- Your in luck, this entire chapter is a kick ass scene. More fighting to come.  
  
Moranar- Thanx, I'll work on the flow of the story more, but that seems to be a problem with me. I don't have the fic flow that much, but I update fairly often usually so that helps I guess. I'll also be careful about how I spell Rouge's name. Didn't know I was doing anything wrong with it before.  
  
Talek- Sry bout the cliffhanger, but it had to be done. Definite Romy in the next few chapters.  
  
Vora- Thanx, I appreciate your opinion on Chloe and my fic in general.  
  
And now on with the story.  
  
CHAPTER 8  
  
Fighting  
  
"Chloe, get outta here." Remy told her. "And leave you here so these goons can play kick the Cajun? I don't think so. Besides, why should you get to have all the fun?" She asked him with a smirk on her face.  
  
If there was anything he didn't like about his baby sister it had to be her stubbornness. It had impeccable timing. "Chloe don' argue wit me. Jus' go." He ordered her again, his eyes not leaving the two foes in the doorway.  
  
"And what makes you think we're gonna let her go?" Sabretooth asked the Cajun. "Look monami, you wan' Gambit, ya got Gambit. No need ta bring nobody else into dis." Remy said, stepping in front of Chloe protectively. Chloe had other plans. Her fists were tightened and charged and she was itching to hurt the two intruders, with or without her powers.  
  
"Oh aren't we the conceited one? No doubt Lord Magneto wants you back to be punished for what you did." Colossus continued. "But what do you think is better? One Le' beau with mutant abilities on his side.or two?" Colossus asked the Cajun, grinning at the young girl behind him.  
  
Remy threw a charged card in the direction of the two men who dodged it and went for the two siblings.  
  
A couch hitting him over the head and knocking him down temporarily stopped Sabretooth. 'Note to self: Thank Jean for practicing her telekinetic powers.' Chloe thought, while ducking a throw from Colossus. Jean smiled at this. Apparently the mind reader had overheard the thought after she used her powers to knock down Sabretooth with the furniture.  
  
Sabretooth stood up and attacked Gambit from behind. "Remy look out." Chloe cried, But it was too late. Remy was knocked out cold. Chloe cringed at the sight and didn't notice the huge sack being shoved over her head. Kitty had though and grabbed her friend's hand, phasing her through the bag and out of harms way.  
  
Rouge caught one of Colossus' punches with her bare hand before he could change into his metal form and in a matter of seconds he was out of the game. Unfortunately Rouge was as well for the moment, trying to sort through some unwanted memories of Colossus.  
  
Jean made the table fly up in the air and hit Sabretooth in the back. Though a lot of good it did, it only made him more pissed.  
  
"Where's Chloe?" Gambit asked Rouge and Jean after ten minutes of the girls fighting when he finally came to. The two girls looked around and saw that Chloe and Kitty were nowhere to be seen. "Don't worry. Kitty probably took her somewhere safe for now." Jean reassured him, though she didn't believe herself that much.  
  
"Nowhere is safe." Remy argued. "We've gotta find her." He said, charging out the door, still a little shaky in the knees from getting the crap knocked out of him.  
  
Rouge stopped in front of the door and tried to calm him down. "Look, we'll find em, but Ah got a feelin we betta take care o' these two first." She told him, pointing towards the two enemies.  
  
Sabretooth was coming closer, but Jean knocked him down with the fridge. "Easy on de furniture Monami." Remy told her. The landlord was definitely not going to be happy with them.  
  
Sabretooth went down, and they decided to regroup. Unfortunately it was only for a minute before he got up and cornered the three younger mutants. They had backed into a corner and there didn't look like any non-painful ways out.  
  
"Where tha hell is Kitty?" Rouge asked the other two who were more concentrated on the giant cat that was going to use them as human scratching posts.  
  
"Like right here." She told them. Sabretooth was knocked off his feet when the two younger girls pulled the rug out from underneath him. He got up and roared at them. "We had to go do something." Kitty explained to her friends.  
  
Sabretooth stood up and grabbed Kitty, raising her over his head. "Hey." She exclaimed, though she wasn't so brave when she caught site of where he was aiming her against the walls.  
  
"Put her down you oversized housecat." Chloe told him, throwing a few very high voltage energy balls at him. They were filled with electricity, which was released when it hit the feline.  
  
Kitty screamed as he dropped her to the ground as she phased through it. She came back up through the floor, rubbing her temples. "Couldn't you have like not electrocuted him while I was still connected?" She asked her friend, flattening down her now statically charged hair. "Sorry." Chloe apologized, sounding pretty beat from her last use of powers. She wasn't use to using them.  
  
"Your gonna be." Sabretooth told her. The two looked up and saw a very pissed Sabretooth hovering over them. His hair looked like it had been blown dried like those French poodles you see at the dog shows. It was actually fluffy, only not clean.  
  
"Uh-oh." Was all Chloe said when she saw that her powers had only temporarily knocked out the now fluffier cat creature and he didn't look too pleased.  
  
Sabretooth got closer and closer and was about to attack when someone came crashing through the window.  
  
Logan stood, claws out and ready for action behind an enraged Sabretooth. "I don't think you wanna do that bub." Logan growled. "Well, well. Look who's joined the party." Sabretooth replied with an evil smirk. "Actually Wolverine I think I do." He retorted. "Your funeral." Logan said with a shrug before charging his alimantium claws into his enemy.  
  
Sabretooth blocked them and they started duking it out. Throwing punches, kicking, catching the throws and so on. Kitty and Chloe took advantage of the distraction and ran to join Jean and the others.  
  
"Logan? But how did he." Jean trailed off. "I like told you we had to do something." Kitty explained to her teammate. "Kitty called Logan on the phone in Remy's room." Chloe added. "Nice going Valley girl. Remind mah ta thank ya if we eva make it outta here alive." Rouge told Kitty.  
  
"Let's concentrate on gettin' away from de nice enraged cat an' de clawed man fo' now, oui?" Remy suggested as Sabretooth and Wolverine got a little too close to the group of teens.  
  
"I'm with Rem. Let's get the hell outta here while we still can." Chloe said, heading for the front door again. "But like what about Logan?" Kitty asked the group. "He can take care of himself. You know how he is when it comes to us interfering with his little fights with Sabretooth." Jean reminded her. "Yeah ok. I guess your right." Kitty said looking back at the battle between the two men while Remy tried to rush her and the other girls out of the apartment as quickly as possible.  
  
Colossus stood and grabbed hold of Jean's arm on her way out. Rouge turned when she heard Jean's scream and used Colossus' powers to take her back. They ran for a few minutes straight before stopping to breathe and look behind them. There were no signs of their attackers in the downpour but no signs of Wolverine either.  
  
Maybe we should call for backup. "Kitty suggested to Jean." "Already taken care of." A voice said through the sound of the rain hitting the pavement. "Wait, I know that voice." Jean said in thought. "Its.Scott?" Jean questioned the approaching figure.  
  
"Right on Jeanie. Come on we have orders to get the Le beau's back to the mansion." He explained, pointing to the X-van that was quickly approaching.  
  
Storm rolled down the window of the driver's side and told the two siblings to hurry up and get in the back. Chloe waited for an approval from her older brother and when he gave the okay she climbed into the back to be greeted by Kurt and Evan who stepped out after the two got in. "We'll take it from here Storm." Scott told her. "Be careful children." She warned them, driving off at full speed.  
  
After Evan, Kurt, and Scott joined Jean, Kitty and Rouge he told them what to do and went back towards the apartment. By the time they had gotten back to the apartment it had been had been wrecked beyond repair and all that was left was a wet and pissed off looking Logan standing in the doorway. "So. are ve too late vor ze fun?" Kurt asked him. All he got in reply from the soggy man was a low growl.  
  
"They're gone." Logan told them a few seconds after that, still in a low growl. "Gone? Why? You were out numbered." Jean asked, confused. "Don't know. I had already knocked down Tin-head." He told them, referring to Piotr. "And Sabretooth?" Scott questioned. "He split when the building started ta collapse." Wolverine said grumbling.  
  
The kids sighed and got into Scott's car while Logan went back to the Mansion by Motorcycle. Right before they left a lightening bolt hit the building and the apartment collapsed completely.  
  
"Scott I thought you were still in Hawaii with Alex." Jean told her boyfriend in confusion. "Not while my teammates needed me." He said. She raised her eyebrow slightly. "Okay so that and the fact that there was a hurricane down by the beach and I ended up coming home early." He admitted. She just grinned at him and leaned on his shoulder as they drove away with the others in the back.  
  
"Ouch! That's gonna hurt their living situation." Evan murmured to Kurt as the group of kids looked back at the remains of the apartment. "Yeah, but hopefully in our favor." Kurt answered. They all drove back to the mansion, rain still pouring down like there was no tomorrow.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Okay, well that was it. Hope you all enjoyed it. I know it was short but there's definitely more to come. Thanks for the reviews and all. Review more though okay. Liked it, hated it? You know the drill. Got a question? I'll write an answer. You tell me what I'm doing wrong or right and I'll change it or spread it around. What did u like or not like about the chapter?  
  
I'm going to try and update by next Tuesday but I might not be able to. I'm feeling writers block coming on so reviews will inspire me and help the next chapter along. PLZ PLZ PLZ Review!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
I need you guyz! Thanx for reading and reviewing!  
  
-AngieX 


	9. Betrayal

Hey people. Did you like the last chapter I posted? Hope so. Okay this chapter is a little confusing but bear with me. Oh and even if it doesn't make sense to some of you, read until the end and it will. This chapter is long.or at least it is to me.  
  
Okay so now on with the reviewers.  
  
Review Answers:  
  
buffyangelus- sorry I didn't update for a while but I had finals to deal with. Thanks for taking the time to review and plz review for this chapter if you can. Hope you like the next chapter!  
  
Girl number 1- Really? Thanks. R/R again plz!  
  
Solitaire- Thanks for reviewing again. Means a lot to me that you read the chapter when you usually skip fighting scenes. Sorry for not updating sooner! (Finals are evil)  
  
Moranar- Okay about the Rouge/Rogue spelling thing. My computer is set to change the spelling from certain words so I guess Rogue was one of them. I stayed up all night and redid it though. I did separate some chapters but fanfic.net doesn't keep the indents that I put in unless they skip an entire space.  
  
Fllnangel- Lol, thanx. I didn't know my chapter deserved a happy dance! There will definitely be MUCH more Romy to come but not so much in this chapter. This chapter is actually confusing enough as it is. But Romyness galore will be in future chapters. Keep those reviews coming!  
  
Thanks for all your reviews. I need at least five for this chapter before I can post again. The faster I get more reviews the faster the next chapter is posted. I luv you guys. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.  
  
Just so u know, this chapter is a little on the confusing side in some scenes. Try and read it through though cuz it will all make sense in the end and don't worry, I'm NOT going Off Cannon on Remy's character.  
  
And now for the Featured Presentation. erm. Chapter!  
  
-CHAPTER 9-  
  
-Betrayal-  
  
Remy sat in the Study with Logan, Storm, Hank, and Xavier. He was tired and in a whole lot of pain, having the crap just been beaten out of him by an oversized feline.  
  
He just wanted to go home and get away from these people. He didn't need their help. The only problem was that he no longer had a home, and he did need their help.  
  
"Now we're not telling you that you have to join us at the institute. We merely think it would be best for you and Chloe to be in an environment that will protect you and help you with your mutant abilities." Xavier explained to the rain soaked, silent boy on the couch.  
  
Logan had his arms crossed over his chest, staring down at the boy in a sort of half not trusting, half confused remorse. It puzzled him why Remy didn't want help taking care of his sister. Gambit knew he needed it. So why was he being so closed off and stubborn about it?  
  
Storm sat in thought with Hank doing the same. Remy hadn't said anything yet either. He had a black right eye and was bleeding under the other one but no one could see them because they were hidden well by a pair of sunglasses and a poker face blocking out any pain they were causing him to feel. Xavier of course knew about the injuries because of his telepathy but decided not to bother him about it just yet.  
  
"We don't want to push but." Xavier trailed off when Remy's head rose up from leaning over.  
  
"Okay." The Cajun boy answered in a quiet, yet clear voice, cutting off the Professor before he could ask again.  
  
What was that?" Xavier questioned, not expecting him to talk.  
  
"Gambit realize dat he can' hide de world from Chloe or vise versa." He said with a defeated sigh. "An' as much as he tried, tings gettin' worse by de minute."  
  
Remy stood and looked out the window while he talked. "I can' protect her from Magneto. Hell, Remy can' get away from Mags himself wit out gettin' a black eye." Remy finished with a small laugh, sliding off his glasses.  
  
Storm saw the injuries and immediately stood up, walking toward the first aid kit by the desk.  
  
"S' okay. Gambit's fine. But he gotta know, if he puts Chloe in your hands she gonna be okay fo' sure?" He asked the professor.  
  
"As safe as any of the students I house here." He answered in a calm voice. Remy sighed deeply again and paused in thought for a minute.  
  
"Den its settled. Chloe gonna be stayin here wit you non?" He asked the man in the wheelchair.  
  
"Yes, of course. But what about yourself Gambit? We always have room for more." He told the boy. Gambit raised his hand in disagreement.  
  
"Non, as long as Mags wan' Gambit he gonna be lookin' and dats jus' one mo' ting Remy'd be riskin' Chloe's safety wit." He explained. "One condition dough." The Cajun told the old man. "I can come an' visit wit de fille non?"  
  
"Of course. Any time you'd like. Just make sure your timing is appropriate and we know your coming so we can be ready for you." Xavier explained. The alarm system was not something to fool around with at the Xavier institute.  
  
"Oui." Merci Professa." He said, standing to his feet.  
  
"Logan, why don't you take Gambit to his sister? I have a feeling he'll want to tell her this himself." Xavier suggested.  
  
Logan nodded and left the room, followed by a silent, and hesitant Remy. Gambit wasn't completely sure of what he was doing, but this was the best thing for Chloe, or at least that was what he kept telling himself.  
  
The two were silent for a while, walking down the many identical halls and down the stairs. Logan decided to brake the silence, which surprised Remy.  
  
"Yer doing the right thing bub. This is the best thing you could do for her right now." He assured him, still walking in front of him.  
  
"Dats what Remy be hopin." He replied quietly.  
  
They were silent the rest of the way. Remy didn't know how he was going to tell his younger sister the news without her exploding into whatever emotions she was keeping inside of her but he knew it had to be done weather she liked it or not.  
  
Gambit was snapped out of his train of thought when Logan broke the silence again by saying, "Here we are."  
  
Remy sighed and looked at the door. He put his hand on the doorknob and paused, looking back at Logan and then back at the knob.  
  
"Merde. I can' do it." Remy said in a pained voice. Going one on one with a powerful opponent he could do. Living on his own at age sixteen in a state he'd never even been to before he could do. But telling his baby sister that the only family she had left was now going somewhere he wasn't sure of and might not be back for a long time, he was in no position to do.  
  
How bout you do it monami? You jus' be de Wolverine. It don' matta if she hates you, oui?" Gambit asked the older mutant behind him with a hopeful, yet doubtful and desperate look on his face.  
  
"Sorry bub, you gotta do this yourself. Don't worry so much. She'll understand.eventually. But she needs to hear it from you. No one else." Wolverine said, eying the door to the next room.  
  
Gambit took a deep breath and muttered something in French that Logan didn't understand. Grasping the doorknob, he started to turn it ever so slightly.  
  
The door cracked open and he watched for a few seconds with Logan as he saw Chloe and the other X-men playing a game of foosball. She had a smile on her face. A genuine smile. Something Remy hadn't seen on her face sense the accident.  
  
She was wearing a pair of jeans and a top that looked similar to what the valley girl was wearing. Remy figured that Chloe had borrowed it from Kitty sense he hadn't recognized it from the collection of clothes in his sister's suitcase and it was dry.  
  
Her hair was still wet but she was having fun and it made the heavy load on Remy's heart lighten to see it. He knew then that he was doing the right thing for sure.  
  
Remy opened the door slightly and cleared his throat a bit. "Remy! Hey! Wanna play a game of Foosball?" Chloe offered.  
  
"Not now petite. We gotta talk." He said, taking her hand and pulling her into the hallway.  
  
The X-kids wanted to see what was going on but were denied their curiosity by Logan, closing the doors to the hallway and standing in front of them to give the two some privacy.  
  
Kurt tried to port into the next room and hang on the chandelier but Logan caught him by his tail and he sat down on the couch, grumbling something about how his tail was always getting abused at the institute.  
  
Logan folded his arms over his chest and eyed the group. "Hey, where's Stripes?" He asked the team.  
  
Everyone looked around but she wasn't there. "Oh I think she like wanted to go take a shower or something when we got home." Kitty answered.  
  
Rogue wasn't the type to be in with the crowd or gossiping or nosing around where she didn't need to be so Logan just left it alone.  
  
Meanwhile, in the hallway by the stairs.  
  
"Remy what's wrong?" Chloe asked, seeing her older brother shift his weight from side to side and staring at her through his red on black eyes.  
  
She loved those eyes. They made her feel safe and at home. She remembered her parents telling her stories of how when she was a baby she would cry and cry for hours on end until Remy came up to her and looked at her with those beautiful, cryptic eyes.  
  
She would stop crying after seeing them because she knew that they belonged to the boy who cared for her so much that he would never let any harm come to her. She knew they belonged to her older brother.  
  
"Chloe y' know Remy loves ya an' he only does stuff dat he tinks is good fo' ya oui?"  
  
"Oui." Chloe answered in her second language, though she felt extremely uneasy when she heard the words coming out of her brother's mouth.  
  
Words like that could never end up in a good way. They were like your boyfriend telling you, 'We need to talk' but she nodded her head in agreement anyways.  
  
"Well Remy been tinkin' an' he had a long talk wit de Professa an' de rest o' de X-men adults an'." He tried to find the words but couldn't quite get them out of his mouth.  
  
"Remy just spit it out would you?" Chloe asked impatiently. The suspense was killing her.  
  
"Remy decided dat you gonna be stayin 'ere wit de X-men." He said in one breath and waited for the arguing to commence.  
  
"For real? Oh Remy that's great." She said, giving him a big hug, which he accepted, though totally thrown off by her reaction to the news.  
  
"Ya mean y' aint mad at Remy?" He questioned her after releasing her from the hug.  
  
"Mad? Why would I be mad? We're gonna live with the X-men. This is great. I'll be able to practice my powers with them and hang out like a normal kid and.and you'll be able to flirt with Rogue a whole lot more." She added with a twinkle in her eyes.  
  
"We're?" He echoed her.  
  
"Yeah. You and I. We're gonna do this together. Because Le beau's gotta stick together. Remember? That's what you said. That's what you told me." She quoted her brother in a Southern Cajun accent from their conversation a few nights back. (AN: read prologue if you don't remember him saying this.)  
  
'Oh Merde. She tinks I'm moving in wit her. She's not gonna make dis easy fo' me.' He thought. He cursed silently at her long-term memory.  
  
'I tell her to wait in the apartment and not go out and she forgets. I tell her Le'beaus gotta stick togetta an' de fille remembers like it be on de back o' her hand.'  
  
He let out a frustrated and painful sigh, along with Wolverine who had been overhearing the little conversation through the thick walls with his sensitive hearing.  
  
"Come on kid. The sooner you tell her, the easier its gonna be." Logan said aloud without even noticing it.  
  
"Uh.Mr. Logan like who are you talking to?" Kitty asked him curiously as he guarded the door.  
  
"Nobody Half pint. Just go sit down and read your magazine."  
  
"Non petite. What Remy means is dat.dat you livin wit de X-men. Not Remy." He explained. Chloe's face softened a bit, and then turned to sadness and confusion.  
  
"What? But.but I don't understand. Why can't you stay here too? I don't want you to leave me Remy. Please don't leave me." She pleaded.  
  
"Non petite. Dis gonna be de best ting fo' ya. As long as Mags is afta Remy, he can' be livin wit ya. It be too dangerous fo' ya. You saw what happened at de apartment today." He explained in a firm yet soothing voice.  
  
"But I.I cant live without you." She argued, starting to take in the information she was just given.  
  
"Chloe, you been livin wit out Remy fo' all yo' life." He told her, trying not to make things harder then they already were.  
  
"But that was before. I had mom and dad and Aunt Laura. Now all that's left is you and you're.you're."  
  
"Gonna be comin back t' visit ya every chance Remy gets." He finished for her.  
  
"You said.you promised." She stuttered. Tears welling up in her eyes and falling down her cheeks. "You told me. You said 'Le beau's gotta stick togetta.'" She quoted him in his Cajun accent once more. Tears were now streaming down her face without her trying to hold them back.  
  
Remy tried to wipe them away but she flinched and pulled away from his reach.  
  
"Petite, I be doin' dis fo' you. Its de best ting fo-"  
  
"NO Remy Le beau!" She shouted, pulling further away from him. "You promised. You promised we'd always be together and you lied."  
  
She was trying to talk in a way he'd understand her but her mind was so distant right now. So full of pain. She could barely think straight.  
  
"And don't say your doing this for me because even if that's true the main reason your not staying is because you don't want to. You'd rather get yourself beaten to a bloody pulp by your X-teammates and some moron with a bucket on his head then have to deal with me." She told him. She wasn't crying to the point of sobbing or anything but the tears were still falling.  
  
"You were a lot happier with the Acolytes than you are with me but sense I'm your sister you had to give it all up. Now your going back out there so they can play 'Kick the Cajun' until you bleed to death." She shouted.  
  
All the pain, all the hatred she'd been feeling for herself and in general was all bottled up and ready to burst. She couldn't take it any longer. She'd promised herself she'd hide the pain and burry the longing she had to be in her parent's arms once more. But she couldn't hide it or fake it any longer and it felt like she was going to explode from keeping it all in.  
  
"Its not like dat chere." He tried to explain, not changing the tone of his voice the way she had. "You gotta believe dat I'm only doin dis fo' you." Remy tried again but it was to no avail.  
  
"No, no your not." She said, a bit louder then she'd meant to, but she didn't care at this point. "You're doing this because you don't want to be near me. Admit it. You can't even look at me straight in the face because of what happened with mom and dad." She accused.  
  
It was true though. Remy had rarely looked Chloe straight in the eyes sense the accident, but it wasn't because he didn't want to look at her. It was useless for Remy to try and explain the present accusation at this point.  
  
"Well.dat aint fair petite. Oui, it be true but." She cut him off with a few choice words in French which Remy had never heard her say before. Frankly he wasn't sure where she'd even learned them.  
  
He had never seen his little sister like this before. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be okay but there was no way she was going to let him get close enough to do so.  
  
"Its my fault mom and dad were in the car in the first place, its my fault I wasn't wearing my seatbelt and its my fault their dead. You know it, I know it, and from how loud I'm yelling the rest of the damn world knows it too."  
  
She was thinking these thoughts the entire time and he had no idea. She blamed herself for the accident and was sure that if it weren't for her, her mother and father would still be alive.  
  
This all came as a surprise to Remy. Of all the people he'd expected her to take their death out on, he didn't consider the possibility of her taking it out on herself.  
  
"So fine! If you want to leave than leave. But I swear Remy Le Beau, if someone finds your dead, bloody body one night in an ally I will never forgive you." She told him in a pain filled voice, running out of the mansion and into one of the gardens with tears falling down her face, non stop.  
  
"Merde. Smooth move Remy. Now she hates y' fo' sure." He said aloud, putting his hand to his temple in frustration.  
  
"She don't hate ya Cajun." Rogue said, walking down the flight of stairs.  
  
"So ya heard dat huh?" Remy looked at her as she stepped down off the bottom step to face him.  
  
"Yeah, and don't worry about it. She won't be mad at you forever." She tried to reassure him. "Do ya really know dat fo' sure Chere?" He asked her as he gazed into her hazel eyes.  
  
"Ah sure do. How the hell could she get any more angry at ya then she already is?" She asked. It was supposed to lighten the mood a little but failed at doing so.  
  
"Ah mean it is possible. When Ah first met ya I hated yer guts but now." Rogue trailed off, realizing the mistake she'd almost made.  
  
"And I also know that ya did the right thing. She'll be a whole lot safer here than she would have been out there." She told him, pointing to the city on the other side of the gates.  
  
"Oui, I know dat an you know dat, but de fille.she don' an' she be takin it personal." He sat down on the bottom stair and thought for a few minutes.  
  
Rogue paused before taking a seat next to him. She didn't usually get this close to someone, especially when she wasn't even wearing any make-up sense she had been taking a shower, but Rogue decided to make an exception for the hopeless boy.  
  
"Ah can't tell ya every things gonna be alright cause chances are they won't. There's obstacles ya gotta overcome. All families gotta go through stuff, but they go through it together. Even our warped little family at the institute." She said with a little laugh, which caused him smile momentarily.  
  
Chloe ran into the hedge maze in the backyard. She made her way to the center of the elegant, simple maze, which was a small, yet beautiful little plot of land.  
  
There was a fountain with flowers and plants growing all around it. A tree was rooted into the corner of the square area and the moon, stars, and random fireflies provided the only light.  
  
Chloe stood in silence for a minute, receiving flashbacks of Remy and herself trying to catch fireflies in jars in the Bayou during the summer when she was an infant.  
  
She had stopped crying, leaving tear stains running down her face. This garden was too beautiful a place to be crying in. She looked around and took in her surroundings.  
  
Chloe could tell that this was going to be her favorite place in her new home. Her new home? Could she really call it that? It was a home without Remy. A home without family.  
  
She thought about the fight she'd just had with Remy. It wasn't actually a fight. It was more of her going ballistic on him when he needed her to act mature and understanding.  
  
"Aw man, why'd I have to explode on him like that?" She asked the skies as she looked up and threw her hands in the air. No one answered.  
  
She sat down on the bench by the fountain and thought for a minute. "I feel so awful." She said aloud. "He's never gonna want to speak to me again." She said to no one in particular.  
  
"I wouldn't count on it." Chloe jumped from her seat, startled from the new comer's voice. She had her fists up, ready for a fight. The petite girl lowered her balled up hands when she realized who it was.  
  
"Oh Remy, I.I didn't see you there." She told him as she sat back down on the bench and stared intently at her shoes.  
  
"Look Remy I'm sorry about before. I wasn't thinking."  
  
"No you weren't tinkin. You're a selfish little brat. And yo' right, I don' wan t' be with you and you want t' know why? It's cause it is yo' fault dat mom an' dad died. If it weren't fo' you, they'd still be alive. Why couldn't y' have died instead? Or at least died wit' em?"  
  
After he was done letting out his feelings he looked up to see how his younger sister had taken his speech.  
  
She looked like hell. Her face was flushed, tears welling up in her eyes, the painful look on her gentle face that could have only formed from the breaking of her now shattered heart. She looked very close to being ill as well.  
  
She knew it was her fault but she didn't think he wanted her dead because of it. But he did. She heard it from his own mouth. It was true.  
  
He saw her lips trembling and her legs shaking. She probably wouldn't be able to stand on her own two feet much longer. He smirked at the thought of her crashing to her knees in a fit of silent tears.  
  
Chloe looked up at him through her tear filled eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
"Well, if that's the way you feel.than I guess there's nothing I can do about it." She said slowly, trying not to burst into tears in front of him. In reality she mfelt like she was going to be sick. It was like the ain was somehow eating her away from the insides.  
  
She was trying to be as calm and mature for her brother as possible but her control on her emotions was slipping and causing her to feel a bit dizzy and light-headed like the feeling she'd gotten when the man in the ambulance told her the fate of her parents.  
  
"I won't make a big deal about living at the mansion without you sense you obviously don't want to live with me either way." She said in a quite voice that was almost a whisper, looking down at her feet again.  
  
"Non, your not gonna be livin at de institute." He told her.  
  
"Huh? But I thought you said."  
  
"Dat was befo' ya gave Remy such a hard time. Now he don' see what de problem is wit sendin ya to Magneto. Maybe he can teach ya a few manners non?" He asked with an evil grin on his face.  
  
"Okay Remy, you know what? We just had a huge fight and now I think maybe we're saying some stuff we don't mean." She tried to reason with him before he said or did something they both would regret.  
  
"Non Petite. Gambit knows exactly what he be sayin. Now come on. Gambit gotta take ya t' Mags befo' de bonehead X-men figure out dat we be missin."  
  
'Sense when does he refer to himself as Gambit in front of me? He never did before.' Chloe thought to herself but was pulled back into reality from what Remy had just said.  
  
"They won't let you take me. She told him.  
  
"Non, but dey won' know I be taken y' either. All Remy gotta do is turn on de charm an'."  
  
He took a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. He then read it aloud for Chloe to hear.  
  
Dear X-men and Remy  
  
I know now what my fate is in this world. I want to be an Acolyte. Do not try and stop me. If you do I will have no choice but to do as Lord Magneto tells me and go against you.  
  
Magneto is expecting me and assures me that unless I want to be found, I won't be. Please do not try and find me. I will be fine with Magneto and the Acolytes. Thanks for nothing losers.  
  
Chloe Le beau!  
  
He folded the paper up again and put it in his trench coat pocket. "Remy what the hell has gotten into you?" She asked him, but he didn't answer. He just grinned at her in an evil way.  
  
He pulled some rope out of his pocket and stepped toward her. Her eyes widened and she stepped back, only to find herself cornered into a hedge bush.  
  
She formed two energy balls in her fists and threw them at Remy. "Get a grip Rem." She ordered him only it was more of a pleading command.  
  
The tears had stopped but only because of the utter state of fear and shock she was experiencing at the moment. He shook off the effect of the powers quickly.  
  
By that time Chloe made a run for the mansion. She looked behind her to see if her now apparently crazed, unstable, older brother was following her.  
  
While she was looking back she wasn't watching where she was going and ran into said brother.  
  
Chloe let out a horrified, ear-piercing scream at the sight of him. 'How had he gotten in front of her so quickly?' She thought to herself briefly.  
  
"Petite what's wrong?" Remy asked, catching his sister in his strong arms as she fell backward in shock and surprise.  
  
"How did you. never mind, just get away from me you creep." She said, yanking her arms out of his grip.  
  
"Wait, Chloe what's wrong?" He yelled, running after her.  
  
The Remy from the hedge maze watched this with amusement as his red on black eyes glowed yellow and his form shifted into a blue woman with red hair. She smirked and shifted into a raven, flying over the real Gambit and a short ways past Chloe. She landed behind the hiding place of a tree.  
  
She shifted back into Gambit and jumped in front of Chloe who was running as fast as her legs would take her.  
  
Chloe let out another scream only this one was a little bit louder. The real Remy heard it and his motivation to run faster increased.  
  
Mystique, who was currently going as Gambit, grabbed Chloe and pulled her behind a tree. The fact that he wasn't holding back his strength and hurting her physically now wasn't very comforting.  
  
He pinned her to the tree, making her wince in pain. She had a scratch right above her left cheekbone that was threatening to bleed. "Remy please.your.hurting me." She pleaded between struggling from his grip and trying to breathe easier.  
  
Chloe's eyes widened even more in terror as she saw who she thought was her big brother, pulling out a deck of cards and separating one of them from the deck.  
  
"Shhh!" Remy hushed her quietly, yet soothingly when she began to whimper. "Dis only gonna hurt a bit." He assured her, holding up the card to charge it in front of her.  
  
"Remy please. You don't want to do this." She insisted, trying to find the last remaining shred of sanity in her brother, if there was any left.  
  
"Oh but I do petite." The Remy impersonator told her.  
  
Chloe closed her eyes and kept them shut tight, trying to concentrate on her powers. Two energy balls formed in her hand once more and she punched him in the chest.  
  
Normally both Mystique and Gambit would have been able to block or catch the feeble throw but the punch came with a burst of electric energy that zapped into Gambit's chest like a bolt of painful electricity coursing through his body.  
  
Seeing Gambit at a weekend state, she took the opportunity to punch him in the stomach and shove her wrist up to his nose after her powers faded from her fists.  
  
"Guess you shouldn't have taught me all that self defense, non?" She asked in mock form before losing the shred of confidence she had gained after using her powers and running faster than she'd ever run before to the house, screaming for help the entire time.  
  
Logan was sitting in the room, watching the X-kids read or talk amongst themselves when he heard a glass shattering scream coming from somewhere outside. Scott heard it too but not as loudly as the man with sensitive hearing.  
  
He growled and out came the claws. He opened the door of the room only to be knocked into by a terrified, hysterically crying Chloe. "Kid what's wrong?" He growled.  
  
She was out of breath and would have passed out if he hadn't caught her when she knocked into him. He hadn't moved an inch from the collision but for her it was like getting thrown into a brick wall. One of the perks of having a metal bone cover.  
  
He held her up when he saw that her legs had gone limp. She was crying a lot more now and all Logan could get out of her was "Remy.sob.rope.sob.Magneto.sob cards" And so on between muffled cries.  
  
"Jean can't you just do the mind thing with her sense I'm not getting anywhere with talking?" Logan asked the redhead.  
  
Jean nodded and used her telepathic abilities to figure out what the hell was wrong with the girl.  
  
While in her mind Jean was able to sort out everything. The fight in the hallway, the fight in the garden, what Remy had told Chloe more or less, and how Remy had tried to use his powers against her but that was all she could pick up and it was still blurry at that.  
  
Jean wasn't exactly sure what Gambit had said to his sister just yet but she did know that it made Chloe feel pain beyond belief.  
  
"He said what?" Jean asked, alarmed and aloud in disbelief. She'd calmed the younger mutant down enough to be able to find out exactly what the fake Remy had said, seeing how asking Chloe to just tell them was out of the question in the girl's frantic state. Jean just didn't understand why he would say something like that to his own sister.  
  
"Who said what?" Rogue asked, entering the room. "Gambit." Jean said, turning her head toward Rogue to answer and back to the frail form of Chloe.  
  
Jean put a comforting hand on Chloe's shoulder but it didn't seem to help in calming the girl down. "It's okay sweetie. We're not going to let anyone hurt you." Jean assured Chloe when she saw the younger girl starting to shake from what Jean could tell was pain, betrayal, confusion, and fear.  
  
"Well Jean? What did you see?" Scott asked her. All the X-men were waiting for some answers and because Jean was the only student that was a telepath, they had to wait for her to give them the information.  
  
"As far as I can tell something happened between her and Gambit, and he got mad at her and said.some things, and tried to use his powers on her." Jean informed her teammates, not wanting to go into details about what he actually said.  
  
"That aint it." Rogue said. "They just had a fight an' Chloe stormed off." She corrected Jean.  
  
"And how exactly would you know this Stripes?" Logan eyed her suspiciously.  
  
"I um." Rogue didn't have to finish her explanation because as soon as she opened her mouth to try and come up with one Remy came bursting in through the doors, clearly out of breath.  
  
Chloe's eyes had a look of terror in them again, which Scott and Jean noticed immediately. She moved away and hid herself behind the safety of Logan.  
  
She felt so stupid for doing this. She wasn't a child and could usually take care of herself but she had never seen Remy like this before and it scared her.  
  
"What the hell happened out there Cajun?" Logan asked, impatiently.  
  
"Yeah Remy, what happened?" Rogue repeated.  
  
"Remy?" Kitty asked Rogue, referring to what her teammate had called him.  
  
"Ah mean Gambit. What happened Gambit?" Rogue asked, covering up her mistake of actually calling him by his first name as if he actually meant something to her.  
  
"Remy don' know. He seen Chloe runnin in de yard an' when she saw Remy she jus' screamed." He explained.  
  
"Are you sure that's all that happened?" Scott asked the Cajun, not believing that he was telling the whole truth.  
  
"Why would Remy lie bout sometin' like dat?" He asked Cyclops out of irritation.  
  
"I don't know. But why would she?" Cyclops asked Remy, pointing to his terrified sister, hidden and protected by a confused, but still on guard Logan.  
  
Arguing commenced as the group started to fight about who did what. Rogue had already had a huge headache and the fighting wasn't exactly helping.  
  
"Stop yer yellin already would ya?" Rogue yelled at all the others, which silenced them all. "Gawd ya'll are loud. Look, Ahm just gonna make things a whole lot easier for everybody." She announced in annoyance and frustration from her now pounding headache.  
  
Before she could stop herself she pulled off her right glove and very lightly touched Chloe on the cheek so as not to get all her memories, but just the most recent ones.  
  
Rogue saw everything. The fight that she'd already witnessed herself, Chloe's discovery of the garden, and then Remy. All the things Remy was being accused of were true.  
  
Rogue felt sick. How could he be saying these things to his baby sister?  
  
She felt the rage boiling up inside of her. Rogue wanted to smack herself for actually trusting him and letting her guard down somewhat.  
  
He lied. He sounded so honest but he'd looked her in the face and lied.  
  
After Rogue felt the rest of Chloe's most recent memories she looked up to see everybody staring at her. Except of course Chloe who had fallen back into Logan's arms from her drainage.  
  
Chloe wasn't unconscious or anything. She just needed to lean on someone for support for a few minutes.  
  
Rogue looked up at the Cajun, completely ignoring the others. "Well? What did you see?" Kitty asked her roommate impatiently.  
  
Rogue didn't answer her friend. She merely stared at Remy with a blank expression, perhaps trying to figure him out.  
  
After sliding on her right glove, Rogue walked over to the Swamp Rat and without warning, punched him square in the jaw as hard as she could.  
  
She didn't care about hurting him if she touched him. She just didn't want his sick, twisted thoughts stuck in her head. Though to see the Cajun collapse on the ground would be satisfying.  
  
Gambit of course, not expecting this, fell back and hit the ground hard.  
  
"Chere? What was dat fo'?" He inquired, massaging his soar jaw.  
  
"Get the hell outta here you lyin, dead beat, Swamp Rat." She said through gritted teeth.  
  
"Oh Chere, y' words hurt Remy." He protested in a playful way, sarcastically clutching his chest in mock pain.  
  
"Words aint gonna be tha only thing I hurt ya with if ya don't leave now!" She threatened. He didn't move.  
  
She took off her other glove and stepped closer towards him. "Yer loss." She said, taking her bare hands and putting them in front of him.  
  
"Easy there Stripes." Logan told the Goth, trying to calm her down the best he could without ending up in the med bay for the night.  
  
The last thing he needed right now was an unconscious Cajun and a Female Remy to deal with, which is what he'd be getting if Rogue insisted on sucking the life out of the boy.  
  
"What exactly did you see Rogue?" Scott inquired, allowing Chloe to lean on him when Logan stepped into the ring to intervene.  
  
"Him. He was gonna send her ta Magneto and make a run for it." Rogue said, through her still gritted teeth.  
  
"I think you'd better leave Gambit." Scott said in more of an order then anything else. Cyclops stood in a now defensive stance.  
  
"Non. Not till Remy figures out what's wrong wit de petite an' why de hell he be gettin' punched by de gothic beauty." He said firmly.  
  
Logan stood in front of Chloe again. "Cajun, if you don't get yer sorry ass outta here in the next thirty seconds." Logan trailed off.  
  
Remy held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine!" "Remy don' wanna cause no trouble. He be back when y' all calm down a bit." He said, winking at Rogue and glancing once more at his terrified sister.  
  
He hated leaving her like this but it was either that or become a human scratch post for Wolverine.  
  
The people in the room didn't say anything. They were all looking at the ground, trying not to think about how badly Chloe must have felt. Chloe didn't want Logan to leave so he had Jean go get the Professor from his office.  
  
Xavier would have already known about the whole fight, if he hadn't been working on a few adjustments on Cerebro. The mutant finding machine needed all his telepathic uses put into it so as long as he was working, he wouldn't hear the other people's telepathic calls.  
  
The rain had now lightened to drizzling outside and it wasn't until 2:30 in the morning that Chloe had finally fallen asleep on the couch next to Logan, listening to him talk about Motorcycles.  
  
A raven sat up in a nearby tree where the open window was. Its eyes turned golden and glowed for a second or two before returning to the normal black orbs and flying away.  
  
Okay now I know that chapter may have been confusing for some of you with all the Remy-Mystique-Remy-Mystique stuff.  
  
Basically what happened was that after Chloe got mad at Remy when he said he was leaving without her, Chloe ran out of the mansion, Mystique pretended to be Remy in the garden, and again outside the garden. Chloe thought she was Remy and now everyone is mad at Remy but he doesn't know why. The bird was Raven.  
  
I need some reviews people. Okay I want you to try and review cuz schools out and you've got more time. I'm not updating until I get enough reviews to help or encourage continuing or stopping. Oh and for those of you who are wondering, yes aunt Laura will be brought up again as will Remy's reason for not wanting to look at his sister.  
  
Well that's the end of this chapter.  
  
I know it was confusing and I SWEAR I will soooo answer any questions you have. hope you liked it anyways.  
  
REVIEW ASAP!!!!  
  
I need at least five reviews to update again!  
  
Neways. gtg. Huge thunder storm and my moms totally paranoid that me being on the internets gonna cause a power outage or blow a fuse or get electrocuted or something.  
  
-Later days!  
  
Any Q's?  
  
Any off canons? Any Romy or confusing bits or suggestions?  
  
You know the drillYou write em' and I answer em' in the next update.  
  
-Later  
  
Review ASAP kay?  
  
-AngieX 


	10. Mystique Who?

All right then, here's your next chapter. Its shorter then the last one but that's cause I need your help on the next chapter. Hope you like this chapter.  
  
Review Answers  
  
WYLK- This chapters for you. Yes Magneto is definitely still in the story. He plays a main role later on. As for Rogue, yes she feels bad but I can't say anymore cause it'll ruin the upcoming chapters.  
  
Ishandahalf- you my friend review all the time. You rock! And yes poor Remy indeed. Just wait though.it gets better.  
  
Girl number 1- Umm. well I don't think I'm going to make Chloe a Goth. Truth be told she's more like Kitty then Rogue. I might be able to work something in though. All depends on how my fic plays out and how the readers review.  
  
Vora- Thanks! I'll try and update the next few chapters as soon as I can. Keep reviewing please!  
  
Taineyah- Yeah I know. Yay you, Mystique is indeed a bitch. I personally don't hate her but then again. I don't hate anything really. Not in my nature but if I did she'd probably be right up there on thed top of the list. I hope I'm not making her character off cannon. You think I am?  
  
Forsaken2442- I am sooo sorry I haven't updated in a while. It just drives me crazy when I go without reading a fic cause the people haven't updated it. Review and tell me what you think of this and the next chapter okay? Thanks!  
  
Bettie-chan- Its okay, I love ideas from reviewers and it just so happens that I'm giving out a lot of information about their past and the family and all. Unfortunately that chapter doesn't happen until after Remy.oops sorry cant give away anymore. Review again please after you read both chapters. I'd like your opinion on them both. Thanks!  
  
Now on with the chapter.  
  
CHAPTER 10 -Mystique Who?-  
  
'What was all dat about?' Remy thought to himself as he took one last glance toward the Institute before walking home in the now puddle filled streets.  
  
It had stopped raining about an hour ago or so but there were clear signs of another storm on its way. Remy knew he should be getting home before it hit. Then again, he didn't have a home to go to.  
  
His apartment was ravaged, his sister and the X-men were in no condition to house him at this time, and he knew that if he had even thought about going back to Magneto the crazy old man would never let him get away with leaving in the first place.  
  
He didn't know what he was going to do. He could always go back to New Orleans, but he'd really rather not and it probably wouldn't be the best thing to do seeing how the guild wouldn't be too happy, knowing that he left the youngest Le beau in the family in the care of a stranger that owned a prep school for mutants and skipped town instead of taking her to the guild where there were people who she knew and could trust.  
  
Gambit stopped in his tracks and listened. He could have sworn he'd heard someone behind him but when he turned around all he saw were the squirrels and the birds in the trees.  
  
He continued walking but was stopped by a familiar voice calling his name and telling him to wait up.  
  
"Remy hold up. You're walking too fast." The voice shouted from behind. Remy turned to see Chloe running up to him from a distance.  
  
"Petite? What you be doin' ere?" Remy asked in confusion, though he welcomed her into his arms for a hug non-the less.  
  
"Listen Rem, I was really upset before about you leaving and all but the Professor explained to me that you were only doing it because you loved me and I know I should have listened when you told me that before but I was just so upset. I guess you think I'm pretty stupid huh?" She asked, looking up at Remy through the corner of her eye as she pretended to find a fascination with her sneakers.  
  
"Non Petite. Remy undastand. An' sides. you be related t' Remy, deres no way y' could be stupid." He said in playful arrogance. "So.you don' hate Remy den?" He asked with hopeful eyes.  
  
"Duh! Of course I don't hate you. You're my big brother." She told him, giving him another hug and taking his hand in hers.  
  
"Hey listen, Xavier said it'd take him a few hours to get a room ready for me and that he wanted me to show you something while I waited." She explained.  
  
"Show me some tin?" He repeated.  
  
"Yeah! Something about an apartment or what ever. I'm supposed to show you where it is. We can take a cab. Its not that far away so you can come visit when ever you want and that way you won't have to move in with the rest of us either." She explained again.  
  
"Petite dat great." He told her, giving her yet another big hug as he swept her up into his arms and twirled her around playfully. Things were finally starting to look up.or so he thought.  
  
After he put her back down she signaled for a Taxi with a loud whistle and they both got in the back. "Now about dis date o' yours Remy been hearin bout."  
  
"Oh uh.Not now Remy, lets not spoil the moment." She told him quickly before giving the address of his new apartment to the man in the front seat and off they went.  
  
Remy was looking out the window to see where they were going and didn't notice when Chloe's eyes glowed a bright yellow as an evil smirk was plastered on her mask of a face.  
  
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"I just don't understand. I mean, I knew he'd be mad at me for talking to him like that but I didn't think he'd go as far as.as." Chloe couldn't finish the sentence.  
  
She still couldn't believe that her older brother, her own flesh and blood, the one person who she was presumably supposed to trust for anything was going to turn her over to Magneto without a second thought. It sent a shiver running up and down her spine and she shook a little.  
  
The young girl felt Jean's hand on her shoulder. "Hey, It's gonna be okay. Everything's going to be okay." Jean comforted her.  
  
Chloe put on a fake smile. She knew for a fact that everything was not going to be okay. Her parents were dead, she was just given her oh so wonderful powers last week, the Acolytes were out to get her, and her older brother had apparently cracked under all the stress and pain and was now a freaking lunatic. A freaking lunatic with the power to charge and blow up random objects. Not a good combination. And for a telepath, she didn't see how Jean could think otherwise.  
  
"Kid, you mind showing us where you first met with Gambit when he tried to.attack you?" Logan asked her hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah.it was out in the hedge garden." She told him in a quiet voice that was lower then her normal volume but still not a whisper.  
  
They all went out to where she'd said they had talked and sure enough there was a piece of rope and a sack on the ground next to a broken statue of a water nymph.  
  
"Sorry about that." Chloe apologized to Ororro who picked up her broken nymph and sighed.  
  
"It's alright child. I can replace clay statues, not young girls." Storm told her with a smile to let her know that there were no hard feelings. After all, Chloe had broken it in the process of fleeing for her life.  
  
Logan sniffed around and growled loudly before letting out his claws. The X-men looked over to him to see why. "Mystique." He said in another growl.  
  
"Who?" Chloe asked her new teammates. She was getting really confused.  
  
"Mystiques a shape shifter that can change her looks to look like other things like birds or wolves, or even-"  
  
"Cajuns." Logan cut off Jean who was trying to explain Mystiques powers.  
  
"Oh no. You don't think." Scott trailed off as well.  
  
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Chloe demanded in frustration.  
  
"Um.well it's like this. You see Mystique likes to uh.change her looks to look like other people. A lot of times its to like mess with someone else's mind." Kitty explained.  
  
"So we're thinking that maybe Gambit might not have been Gambit at all. He might have been Mystique in disguise." Scott explained to a very pale looking and confused Chloe.  
  
"B-but that's impossible. Logan, wouldn't you have picked up on Mystiques scent when we were inside?" Chloe asked him.  
  
"Not if the Gambit inside was the real Gambit and he just happened to walk in at the wrong time and not know what was going on." Logan said with a tired voice.  
  
"You mean I.and he.and.and.Oh God Remy." Chloe stuttered and ran out of the garden.  
  
All the X-kids followed her to make sure she didn't try and pull anything stupid in an attempt to go off and find her brother at four in the morning in New York.  
  
They all left Logan and Storm standing alone in her now fairly trampled garden. "I think it is time to interrupt Charles from his work on Cerebro, don't you?" Storm asked Logan who was getting a migraine from all the recent events happening.  
  
"Yeah, I just hope we're not too late." He stated gruffly.  
  
"When we're done with this fiasco, if this kid gets through it all.Chuck's gonna be payin for some serious Physiatrist bills." Logan concluded to Storm who merely nodded her wary head in agreement, trying to decrease the headache that was building up inside of her own mind.  
  
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Okay yeah I know that was like a really short chapter but hopefully fanfic.net let me post chapter eleven with this one. If not then I'm sorry, but don't blame me, blame the Internet!  
  
If you don't get the next chapter then Review ASAP okay!  
  
Thanx  
  
luv u all!  
  
-AngieX 


	11. Premonitions and Search Parties

CHAPTER 11 -Premonitions and Search Parties-  
  
"Chloe wait up." Evan called after her. They had reached the inside of the mansion and Chloe had already grabbed her coat and was on her way out the door.  
  
"I can't. I have to go find Remy before Mystique does and she.she. I have to find Remy." She stated, not wanting to say what she thought was probably happening to her brother as they spoke.  
  
"Look Chloe we can't just jump into this. We need to have a plan. We don't even know where Mystique would take Remy. Plus I'm sure he can handle himself against Mystique." Scott reassured her.  
  
"It's going to be okay Chloe. The X-men will help you find your brother." Xavier said, rolling into the room.  
  
The phone rang and Logan walked in the door just in time to answer it. "Hello? Yeah he's here. Hold on." Logan said into the receiver. "Chuck its for you." Logan said, handing him the cordless phone.  
  
"Yes?.Oh!.No I understand completely.Yes I'll be there as soon as possible. I'm on my way.Alright thank you and goodbye." The Professor hung up the phone and paused in thought before looking up at the X-men.  
  
"It appears that something has gone wrong with the device that is holding my brother Juggernaut. It has malfunctioned once again somehow and I must go down there and help them figure out how to fix it." Xavier told them all.  
  
"I'm leaving Logan and Storm in charge." The two adults who had just entered the room nodded. Beast cleared his throat when his name wasn't mentioned.  
  
"Hank I would like for to accompany me." Xavier told him after hearing this.  
  
"I do not think that it would be wise if I." Don't worry Beast, I have a holowatch for you just for this type of situation." Xavier cut him off, knowing what he was going to say..  
  
"What about Remy?" Chloe blurted out. She didn't know how dangerous Xavier's brother could be and didn't see this as a code red situation like the others who had gone up against him once or twice before.  
  
"Ah yes. Well as soon as you get a lead on where he might be than you may address the situation with Wolverine and Storm." Xavier explained. He then left the room and the mansion with Beast at his side.  
  
"Okay I'm gonna go back to the garden to see if Mystique might have left something behind that could give us a lead on where she's taken Remy." Scott said, as he left the room accompanied by Jean and Evan.  
  
"And ve'll go to ze brotherhood und see if zey know anything." Kurt told the group. Logan nodded an okay and Kurt ported away with Kitty and Rouge, leaving a cloud of sulfur behind.  
  
Storm went to go make sure everything was under control with the newer X- men recruits leaving Logan and Chloe alone.  
  
"So what can I do?" She asked him rather anxiously.  
  
"Uh.well I really don't think there's anything fer you to." Logan trailed off seeing the worried and impatient look on her face. She needed to be doing something constructive to keep her mind off the little detail of her brother possibly being tortured in some lab or something.  
  
Logan sighed deeply and looked back at her. "I could use some help tuning up the X-jet incase we do need to use it in finding. incase we need to use it." Logan said, avoiding the subject of Gambit all together. He was fully capable of tuning up the jet himself but his stupid conscience kicked in and he felt sorry for the kid.  
  
"Yeah.just follow me." He told her.  
  
They were on their way to the area where the X-jet was when Chloe slid on something and hit the floor. "You okay kid?" He asked, turning around at the loud thud he heard and finding Chloe on the ground.  
  
"Yeah, I just slid on something." She answered. Wolverine raised an eyebrow. How could someone slide on a carpeted floor? Then he saw it.  
  
"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the white object on the ground by her feet. "Oh.guess that was what I slid on."  
  
He picked it up and examined it. "It's an ace of hearts from a card deck." He said.  
  
"So where's the rest of the cards?" She asked.  
  
"I don't know this one probably just fell outta the deck." He concluded.  
  
"Unless.She started. "Unless?" Logan echoed.  
  
"Unless it's one of Remy's cards." She breathed. She reached out for the card that he handed her for a closer examination.  
  
As soon as her skin touched the card everything went black. After a millasecond of darkness and excruciating pain in her head there was a bright flash of light and a vision of Remy and herself walking down an ally.  
  
She noticed the street sign that said Revello Park Drive. Then she saw Remy and herself once again in the ally, only this time Sabretooth and Collosus were blocking their entrance and it was a dead end ahead.  
  
Remy stood in front of Chloe but then she shifted into a blue women with red hair and hit him hard over the head with a random crowbar leaning against the building in the ally. Remy was knocked out cold.  
  
Chloe awoke from the trance she'd apparently gone into and found herself on the floor again, gasping for air.  
  
Logan was sitting next to her this time. He was the first thing she'd seen sense the black out. "Remy." She said in a heavy whisper, still taking in the much needed air. "Revello Park Drive." She told him more loudly and clearly then before.  
  
"Huh?" Logan was very confused. She'd just blacked out, passed out, and now she was babbling something about a park or a drive or what ever. 'Damn the kid finally cracked under all the tension.' He thought to himself.  
  
"Revello Park Drive. Remy." She kept repeating over and over again.  
  
Jean, Scott and Evan walked in at this point.  
  
"Whoa dude. What's up with her?" Evan asked the somewhat annoyed looking Logan.  
  
"The stress was too much for her. Somebody help me snap her out of it already." Logan ordered the three who just stood there with blank faces.  
  
"NO!" She shouted. "Not.no.visions.people.Remy." She moaned. Her eyes were shut tight now and she was still on the ground, clutching her head from the pain. It was as if she were talking in her sleep during a nightmare.  
  
"See?" Logan confirmed to the others. "Maybe she's trying to tell us something." Jean suggested. Her theory was interrupted by more babbling though. "Sabretooth.Colossus.., NO!" She screamed out.  
  
It was like she was in a trance or something to the unknowing others. Unfortunately it was just as bad. Everytime her mind tried to focus back to her normal thoughts kept reliving the vision over and over again, only without her blacking out.  
  
"Chloe snap out of it." Scott told her, but it was to no effect.  
  
Chloe was now in a kneeling position with her hands clutching her ears from the pain.  
  
"Remy.bar.look out.no.hurt.don't hurt him.your hurting him." She cried, shaking her head furiously. Scott went over to her and grabbed her hands, trying to get her attention. Unfortunately for him she'd had the vision so many times that she now felt like she was in the premonition and as soon as Scott grabbed her hand in reality, Sabretooth had grabbed Remy by the wrist and twisted it so Chloe naturally saw Scott's touch as a threat to her brother.  
  
"NO!" She yelled out in an ear piercing screech. Her electrical powers kicked in and she blew Scott across the room and into the wall. She than passed out from all the confusion and pain.  
  
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Keety are you sure zis is a good idea? Kurt asked.  
  
"No, but I don't really see what other choice we have?" She hesitated before knocking on the brotherhood boarding house doors. No one answered.  
  
She knocked again. Still no answer. "Kitty zey're obviously not home." Kurt told her, pulling her arm away from the door.  
  
"Or maybe their like not answering because we've llike on occasion wiped the floor with them in battles." Kitty said in an obvious sort of tone.  
  
"Or maybe they know you mates were coming and decided to high tail it out of there before anyone got to them."  
  
Kitty and Kurt turned at the newcomers voice. "You!" Kitty gasped, astonished to see the red headed, pyromaniac, lazily sitting up in a tree and flipping his lighter on and off repeatedly.  
  
"Vhere's Gambit?" Kurt asked the Aussie impatiently.  
  
"Yeah, like tell us or we'll have to get like rough." Kitty said, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. Pyro raised his eyebrow at this and jumped gracefully down from the tree.  
  
"You? Get rough with.me?" Pyro had to bite his lip to stifle a laugh. "Sorry mates, but in truth the Sheila doesn't seem like the type that would.or could hurt a fly." Pyro told them, trying to stifle more laughter, though failing miserably.  
  
A cloud of sulfur formed behind Pyro. "She may not be able to hurt you but I can." Kurt said, porting the Aussie well above the brotherhood house.  
  
"Hey, hey let's not get carried away mate." Pyro told the fuzzy porting elf.  
  
"Zen I suggest you tell use Vhere Mystique has taken Gambit." Kurt answered.  
  
"Look mate, I'm not the problem here. I was the one who tried to warn the bloke about Creed and Peter's little visit. Why do you think I'm hanging up here chatting with you?" John asked, trying to avoid looking down as much as possible. He dropped his lighter down on the ground and had no way of fighting against the blue elf, or gravity for that matter.  
  
"He's like got a point there Kurt." Kitty yelled up into the air where the two boys resided. "Got to love the Sheila's." Pyro said to Kurt when he noticed that Kurt had listened to his teammate and brought him to the ground.  
  
Kitty blushed but Kurt got back to the subject at hand. "So you're here to help us. Zen I suggest you help before I decide to port you over ze ocean." Kurt threatened.  
  
John put his hands up in surrender. "I'll pass on that mate. Fire and water don't mix well if you know what I mean." He said, stepping a safe distance away from the blue elf, and towards the petite girl who was to him less of a threat.  
  
"So how do we like know that your telling us the truth?" Kitty eyed their captive suspiciously.  
  
"Why would I lie to.oh right, never mind." John trailed off, seeing how there wasn't any reason they should actually trust him at all.  
  
"Look mates, all you have to know is that Remy's my friend and I don't usually like to see my friends getting their faces pounded in by an X- boss." John explained.  
  
"Alright Ve'll take him back to Xavier to see if he's telling ze truth." Kurt told Kitty. Shadow Cat nodded in agreement. "Wait. What!?" John asked in nervousness but didn't get a reply.  
  
Kurt grabbed Kitty's hand and Pyro's arm and ported them both back as far as he could go from the brotherhood house to the Institute.  
  
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Rogue walked down the empty streets of Bayville just as the sun came up. It had taken her a while but she'd finally managed to convince Kurt to port her to down town Bayville before they went to see the Brotherhood.  
  
She figured that they'd cover more ground that way and if she needed any real help then she could just call someone on her comlink.  
  
She walked past the closed stores, looking into their windows while scanning the area for the missing Cajun. She couldn't help but feel guilty every time she thought about how she'd gotten mad and socked him good for something he hadn't even done.  
  
He was probably out somewhere, alone and confused. Either that or he was relaxing at a strip club somewhere, but even though he may have liked people to believe that there was nothing past the ego and the flirting Rogue knew better. She was almost positive that the ladder of the two was impossible.  
  
She remembered the look of his heart breaking when his sister had said those things to him. She just had to find him. And for some reason her instincts told her to look around in the big city.  
  
Rogue had yet to find any signs of Gambit's presence, which wasn't usually a bad thing. What if she did find him? Only he was hurt, or even.no she couldn't think like that. He was still alive. She knew he was still alive. He had to be.  
  
She was about to go around the next street corner and give up on the current alleys when she heard what sounded like a trashcan being knocked over harshly. She turned around and readied herself for a fight but no one attacked.  
  
The Goth heard voices in the ally where the noise was coming from and decided to get a closer look. She brushed a stray strand of her auburn and white locks from her face and tucked it behind her ear.  
  
"Mind keeping a low profile Creed? We don't want our presence known too early or else the plan will be foiled and Magneto will use us as target practice with his little metal darts." Colossus hissed at his teammate after he clumsily knocked over the cans in the alley.  
  
"Acolytes!" Rogue gasped. Why couldn't she have just thought it. Saying it would surely get their attention.  
  
Sure enough the two men had heard her. Rogue covered her mouth to silence her heavy breathing but it was to no avail.  
  
Colossus and Sabretooth turned quickly and stared at the wall she was sheltered behind. Rogue knew she couldn't take on two Acolytes by herself. She wanted to get help from the other X-men with her Comlink but with Creed's super hearing he'd hear her and it'd be the end of her.  
  
She heard someone sniffing the air and let out a long, low growl. "X-man." Sabretooth growled again.  
  
"Here? Are you sure?" Piotr questioned the feline.  
  
"Positive." Creed said, stomping over to where Rogue stood.  
  
She held her breath and hoped that they would get a call from Magneto and leave or that one of her teammates would miraculously appear out of nowhere. It didn't happen.  
  
Rogue hated what she was about to do but found it a necessity to take shelter in a hiding place. There was no where to hide except behind the group of trash cans cluttered together so she took what was given to her and sat behind the cans.  
  
Closer and closer the two men got to Rogues hiding place. She would have run but there was no where to run to. She had cornered herself into a dead end.  
  
Sabretooth reached for the can she was now crouched behind and was ready to throw it across the street and tare apart whoever was behind it when the three mutants heard a car pull up to the apartment next to the alley they were in.  
  
"Here you are. Rovello Park Drive. That'll be $7.95." The cab driver said gruffly as his two passengers stepped out of the taxi and onto the abandoned sidewalk.  
  
"Come on Remy. Let's go check out the apartment. I have the key. It should fit the lock to the door on the side in the ally." A young girl said.  
  
'Chloe? What's she doing here? And with Remy. Oh Gawd, Sabretooth and Colossus. Ah gotta help em.' Rogue thought to herself, noticing that Sabretooth's form had retreated from the trash can where she resided behind and was now standing behind the wall, waiting for the unexpecting siblings.  
  
Rogue stood from her safety place and took a deep breath. She silently walked behind Colossus and did a round house kick. Too bad he'd heard her and instinctively suited up into his metal form.  
  
CLUNK!  
  
She hit the ground and could feel the pain rushing through her right leg when she hit the metal. 'Smooth Rogue. Very smooth.' She thought as the two mutants turned to face her.  
  
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Ooooooh!  
  
The end.well for now.  
  
okay the more reviews I get the longer and better the next chapter will be. I'm not writing until I have at least five helpful reviews but if you write more after I have the five then the next chapter will be up faster.  
  
How'd you like Chloe's new power?  
  
Okay I know it has nothing to do with her first power but it will all be explained later, and besides she only uses the new power once or twice in the whole story. Get ready for Romyness next chapter okay people!  
  
Thanx!  
  
Hope you all enjoyed the last two chapters. Review now please! 


	12. Visions of darkness and A dream come tru...

IIII'm Baaaaaaaaaack! *evil grin* Naw I'm just playin with ya. Heres the answers to your reviews people!  
  
Review Answers:  
  
Tenshi Kanashii- Thanx! I was hoping somebody would like those parts and also that somebody would review and tell me. You did both so Yay you! Oh and thanx for the tip on the empathy though I didn't really get what you meant. But thanx for reviewing all those chapters. Review again plz.  
  
Taineyah- I'm saving Remy. I'm saving Rogue. (Just not all at once.) I'll even try and save the whales just cuz u reviewed. May even use it in the fic a little later on. Lol. Thanx for reviewing. Hope you do it again.  
  
jiana weasley- Okedoke, I'm a little worried for my safety now but I get the picture yes. I know how you feel about needing people to updating. Sry I didn't update for a while. Couldn't be helped really. Review again plz.  
  
Girl number 1- Yeah I guess Chloe's power is like Pheobes power only she feels the stuff the people are feeling. Not sure if Phebeo does that. I'm not gonna give her anymore powers but I want to use a charmed power in another fic or character. What d'ya think of that? Thanx for reviewing. Do it again plz.  
  
Ishandahalf- Yeah I like Mystique too I guess only she is as you said a 'Stupid Mystique Garbage face' in this fic. Sry Mystique luvers if ya wanted her to be all on the side of good for this one. Though who knows right? Review again plz. I'd totally luv it.  
  
Sry guyz I cant write back to all the reviewers all the time. Only people who have individual comments or questions or what ever. Thanx for all of you who reviewed that I didn't write. You guyz rock too!  
  
And now for our feature presentation.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Visions of darkness and A dream come true  
  
The harsh, bright lights illuminating the room beamed down on Chloe, causing her to squint her chestnut brown eyes as she slowly opened them.  
  
The young girl recognized the overly bright light fixtures and subtle scent of a doctor's office in the room, telling her that it was some sort of medical area. She decided not to move as much as possible because she could still feel the pain, only moving her arms slightly to rub her eyes in an attempt to clear her currently blurred vision.  
  
She let out a loud groan and slowly sat up, clutching her head in her hands and leaning forward before feeling the headache and dizziness rushing back through her body as she regained consciousness.  
  
She felt so tired and weak. She wanted to go back to bed and her head was aching to no end along with the rest of her body. 'This must be how Remy feels after a night out drinking with the men in the guild.' She figured.  
  
'Wait.Remy!' Chloe had just remembered all the things that had happened the following nights, including the horrible nightmare of Remy and the blue skinned imposter.  
  
"I'm afraid that was no nightmare you had Chloe." She jerked her head up; startled to see the Professor sitting in a wheelchair, not far from the bed she was sleeping in.  
  
"Wh-what are you talking about? What happened? How.how did I get here?" She asked, breathing heavily and feeling very dazed and out of breath once again.  
  
"Professor, I thought you were.away somewhere or.I.I can't really remember." She admitted, sounding and looking very confused at her lack in memory of current events, not to mention that she wasn't totally awake at the moment and she had somehow earned herself a hospital bed.  
  
"Its alright Chloe. Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to remember the irrelevant things. I was out on a mission with Beast. That is correct. But right now I would like you to try and remember what happened before you blacked out. The corridor you were in, the card, Logan. Try to remember what happened." He said again very calmly, wheeling over to her bedside.  
  
She closed her eyes and did as Xavier said, trying to concentrate and recall all the things that had happened. She remembered Jean, Scott, and Evan going back to the garden, Kurt teleporting Kitty and Rogue somewhere, and then Logan and herself talking and walking down the halls of the institute. She vaguely remembered slipping on a piece of paper. or was it a card? One of Remy's maybe? She could remember that much at least.  
  
The rest was like a dream. The longer you were awake the farther away the events seemed to be from her thoughts.  
  
Her head started to throb a little from the force she was putting on it in the process of racking her brain for hazy memories.  
  
"Very good. Now I'm going to go into your head, which will allow me to see the things that you saw in your vision. Do you understand?" He explained and made sure Chloe knew everything he was going to do before invading the privacy of her thoughts.  
  
Chloe was fine with him looking around in her fried cranium. She was too tired to care about childish crushes and petty secrets being revealed in the process.  
  
She nodded a yes in response and tried to think even more about the dream, or vision as he put it.  
  
There was a flash and suddenly she could feel herself being forced to relive the horrible nightmare just as she'd done before, but this time the Professor was there to help her through it. This time he was seeing the same thing she was seeing; only it didn't seem to hurt him as much as it did her.  
  
He still got a headache and the emotional pain of seeing one mutant do something so harmful to another but he wasn't getting the feeling of the wind being knocked out of him or having to see his older brother get knocked unconscious over and over again and not be able to do anything about it like Chloe had.  
  
Every time she had the vision it would do something to her. A stabbing pain in her stomach, a throbbing headache, using up her energy. Whatever the case was, it was getting worse every time she replayed the scene.  
  
After having been through the same premonition about seven times with the Professor she'd had enough. She couldn't take reliving the scene anymore. She couldn't handle seeing her brother cringe in pain the way he did the same way every time she watched.  
  
She broke away from the line of telepathy Xavier had formed.  
  
Xavier's eyes shot open and widened from the shock of what he'd just seen. Though he soon erased that look from his face and concentrated on recalling the premonition he'd just encountered, searching for any clues as to where this incident might happen.  
  
He didn't understand why she was having these visions. Premonitions weren't any form of her natural mutation, which meant that her body was not made for the power and was therefore rejecting it. This was also the reason why the use of this power was taking so much out of her.  
  
Chloe was now gasping for air, tears streaming down her pale face. (AN: She does a lot of crying in this fic doesn't she?)  
  
It was as if she was in water, only inches away from the surface, but the vision was keeping her under, tempting her to give in and drown.  
  
After seeing her state Xavier thought it best to leave Chloe alone until she was calmer and decided to start things off by doing the thing he did best, ordering people around telepathically.  
  
'Logan please inform Jean and Evan that we will be going on a mission.' He told Logan who was training with the new recruits in the danger room at the time.  
  
'A mission? Any thing I should know?' Logan asked, confused.  
  
'Nothing yet. Just tell them to suit up and meet me in the med lab.'  
  
"I still don't understand. How did I do that? Why am I having these visions?" Chloe asked, now extremely confused. She had calmed herself down and now she wanted answers.  
  
"Yes, well I do not understand all of this either. Only time will tell."  
  
"No, only time will get my older brother killed." She shot back. It was true though. The longer she spent sitting around here the closer the dream would be to coming true.  
  
"Chloe do you remember anything else about what was going on around you while you were having the premonition for the first few times before you blacked out?" He asked, choosing to ignore her last statement.  
  
"Um.well I remember screaming and I know Logan was there. He was trying to tell me something. I was so confused about what was going on in real life and what was going on in the vision. I could have sworn I heard Scott's voice." She was silent for a few more seconds in deep thought, pondering what she had just said.  
  
All of a sudden the realization of the whole thing hit her hard in the face and she looked back at the Professor, her eyes widening as big as they could go. "Oh no. Scott." She exclaimed.  
  
Xavier's eyes shifted over to the bed next to hers and he sighed deeply. Slowly, she turned her head to where the Professor was now looking. She regretted doing so shortly after.  
  
"Scott? Scott wake up." She pleaded. Cyclops' limp form lay still on the bed beside hers. He had a dark purple bruise on his head; a few other not too serious bruises on both his arms and something must have done damage to his chest area because it was wrapped up tightly in bandages.  
  
"I did that to him didn't I?" She asked after gulping quietly. Xavier said nothing but she knew what his answer was.  
  
"What's going on? Is he going to be all right? Is Remy going to be all right? What does all of this mean?" She was at a very emotional state and Xavier couldn't calm her down telepathically just yet.  
  
"It was only a vision and Scott is going to be fine right? Nothing like that is going to happen to my brother and Cyclops will be back to bossing us all around in no time right?.Right?" It was safe to say that Chloe was now in full freaking out mode and wanted some damn answers to her questions.  
  
Xavier said nothing.  
  
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Logan sat in the kitchen drinking his second beer that night when he heard a bamf behind him and smelt a strong whiff of Sulfur. "So you find anything out or did you two just decide to bring him home for dinner?" Wolverine questioned evenly without even turning around.  
  
Although the smell of Night Crawler's sulfur was a little overpowering, Wolverine could still pick up the scent of Magneto's pyromaniac laky.  
  
"No, the Shelia just couldn't bare to be without me." John said vainly. "Ow! What'd you do that for?" John asked Kitty, rubbing the back of his head where Kitty had smacked him.  
  
"He's all ve could find. The brotherhood must have split vhen Mystique came to visit." Kurt explained.  
  
"Hey, hey I came here on my own terms remember?" Pyro asked the two teens. They gave him an agitated glare. ".Well okay maybe more on the blue bloke's terms then mine." He said after seeing their faces.  
  
"Wait a minute.you're trying to tell me that you wanna help us?" Logan asked John skeptically.  
  
"Look mate you and I both know that mystique took the Cajun and well.Mags aint exactly Mystique's favorite mutant ya know?" The Aussie said bluntly.  
  
"I still don't buy it.but Chucks up trying to find out what the hell happened to Sparky upstairs so it'll have to wait." Logan explained, growling at first as he eyed the squirming fire starter.  
  
"Something happened?" Kitty inquired. Her mentor sighed in exasperation and he put down his beer bottle.  
  
"Alright listen up, cause I'm only gonna tell you once. I've had it with being the one to explain what's going on." He said in a gruff voice as the others listened with confused faces.  
  
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"You don't know when to give up do you kid?" Creed asked Rogue who was currently recovering in a crumpled form on the ground.  
  
"I thought the X-men were supposed to be smart enough to know that throwing yourself against a man made of metal is pretty much futile." Colossus commented, tilting his now human head sideways at Rogue who shot him a death glare in return.  
  
"Oh I don't know about it being Futile. I mean it probably broke a few of the kids bones in the process." Sabretooth said in amusement, also looking down at the girl.  
  
Even Rogue had to admit that revealing herself to the enemy by doing a roundhouse kick on a guy that could very easily and quickly turn his body to solid metal probably wasn't the best choice on her part, but she wasn't worried about that now.  
  
Along with a few possibly broken ribs and a very soar leg she had to worry about the fact that she'd definitely heard Chloe and she had Remy with her, which would most likely explain why Magneto's goons were creeping around this particular alley way.  
  
"Calm down Petite. Remy be goin as fast as he can." She could hear his thick Cajun accent with laughter in his voice getting louder and closer to where she was.  
  
"Alright Petite. Now dat ya got Remy's attention, how bout showin him dis 'great apartment you been talkin' bout fo' de past ten-" Remy stopped dead in his tracks when he turned the corner and saw Rogue's limp form on the ground below non other then his X-teammates Colossus and Sabretooth.  
  
He saw the look in her eyes and he could feel what she was feeling because of his empathy. It was pain. She was hurt and in pain and it was because of Magneto's henchmen that she was in this state.  
  
Gambit's anger was boiling up inside of him, ready to burst. His red on black eyes, flaring more then usual at this time.  
  
If he had looked over at his little sister he would have noticed that her face had a look of pure hatred towards the men as well, but he was too busy getting ready to use the Acolytes as an outlet for all the excess anger he'd been feeling. Plus they'd hurt Rogue and were about to pay for that action dearly.  
  
"Gambit tinks y' need ta get away from her." He threatened the two men who were now looking at him and his sister.  
  
As soon as they made eye contact Gambit's glare seeped into the Acolytes like poison, sending a chill up even Sabretooth's spine. There was no doubt about it. Remy Le beau was pissed.  
  
"Hey Gambit." Colossus said casually. "Aw sorry kid. Didn't realize this was your girlfriend." Creed said, kicking Rogue in the side.  
  
This only managed to tick off Remy even more so, which was what Sabretooth had intended. "Don' say Gambit didn' try an' worn ya." Remy said as he fired up a few cards and threw them at the two men in his path.  
  
Creed got knocked back a few feet by Remy's second card but Peter had managed to dodge all four of them. His only mistake though was getting close enough for Rogue to touch his unarmed leg, which she did and stood behind him soon after.  
  
Peter was down but only for a second. Creed had come back from his injury and was now closing in on Remy, who was now out of cards.  
  
Creed felt a gloved hand tap on his shoulder and for some reason he turned around to see who it was. "He aint mah boyfriend." Rogue said firmly and loudly before she suited up and knocked Sabretooth into a nearby wall.  
  
"Chere, y' wound me." Remy said, putting a hand to his chest sarcastically. Rogue was about to throw him a comeback when she felt herself being lifted up by the waist and harshly thrown into a garbage dumpster.  
  
When she was thrown into the dumpster she first hit the propped up lid, causing it to close behind her as she fell into the fortunately empty dumpster taking her out of the fight.  
  
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"Wow! That's like.wow!" Kitty said, a little shocked after hearing Logan's story. "Ya.vow!" Kurt said in agreement.  
  
"Now back to the matter at hand." Wolverine said gruffly, turning to look at John who was clicking his lighter open and closed out of habit.  
  
"Who me?" Pyro asked innocently.  
  
"Yeah you, ya pyromaniac twit." Logan shot back, not buying the boy's innocent act.  
  
"Well what do you want to know?" John asked a little impatiently.  
  
"Everything." All the people in the kitchen turned their heads to the doorway where the newcomer's voice had come from. Chloe stood in the doorway, supporting herself on the frame.  
  
"Look mates, I want to help the Cajun, really I do.its just that the more information I give you this easily the worse Magneto's punishments gonna be. I mean come on, how do you think it'll look if I go back to the base without a single scratch on me and I gave you blokes all that information? I'll be made out to look like a flippin trader. Pyro explained.  
  
"Well in that case." Chloe took a step closer to an unsuspecting Pyro and socked him hard in the face. The others just gaped in shock at her unnatural behavior.  
  
"Oy! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his soar jaw.  
  
"Well the way I see it, you give us information without getting the crap beat out of you and it'll make you look bad for Magneto." She said looking over at the others. "But if you come back beaten and bruised then it'll look like you tried to fight us and keep your mouth shut." Chloe explained.  
  
They all nodded in agreement. "Well exactly how much information am I gonna have to give you Sheila?"  
  
"Hm. I'd say the bloodier you are the more information we'll get. I really hope you're not a bleeder." She said as Kitty stifled a laugh at the scared look on John's face.  
  
"Well it can't be that bad. I mean come on, how hard can one Sheila hit?" He asked, regaining some of his cool.  
  
"Okay one, This Sheila can hit just as hard as you." Chloe told him firmly letting him know that she wasn't exaggerating.  
  
"Yeah like hello, she's Remy's little sister, what do you expect?" Kitty asked.  
  
"And two, I'm not the one that gets to play Pyro Piñata." She stated.  
  
"Your not?" Kurt, Kitty and John asked in unison.  
  
"Nope. He is." She said, pointing over to Logan who had drawn his claws out.  
  
"Oh yay!" Pyro said sarcastically, trying to cover up his loud gulp.  
  
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Scott opened his eyes to see a worried Jean talking to the Professor above him.  
  
"He's going to be awake soon right?" She asked Xavier for the fifth time in the last half hour.  
  
"No Jean he's not going to be awake soon." He said, causing her eyes to widen.  
  
"What? But I thought u said that."  
  
"He's not going to be awake soon because it seems that Scott is awake right now." Xavier said, wheeling out of the room to give Jean and Scott some time alone.  
  
Jean volunteered to explain everything to Scott when he woke up so they could have some alone time.  
  
"Jean? What's going on? How'd I get he-" He was cut off when his girlfriends arms swung around him and hugged him.  
  
He graciously accepted the hug that neither one of them was willing to pull away from for a long time.  
  
"So what happened? He said, examining the bruises and bandages he'd been given.  
  
Jean let out a tired sigh and looked at him through her wary eyes. "It's a long story Scott. A very long story." She said, sitting down on his bed beside him and trying to think of the best way to tell him that among other things he'd been knocked across the room and unconscious by a fifteen year old newbie. He was just gonna love this.  
  
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"Yo' gonna regret dat pussy cat." Remy said, tightening his fists and glancing over at the shut dumpster in the alley. Piotr stood up and shook off the effects of Rogue's powers.  
  
"Erm. maybe we should go." Chloe said, tugging at her brother's trench coat sleeve. Remy ignored her.  
  
"Yeah Cajun. Just try and run away and see what happens." Sabretooth taunted.  
  
"Remy please! "We need to go now! We need to get out of here." Chloe pleaded.  
  
'No! They are not going to get either of the Le beaus. Either I get them, or no one does.' Mystique thought to herself in frustration.  
  
"You know we could make this easy. Give up the little brat and maybe Magneto will go easy on ya for leaving." Sabretooth said, taking a step toward the girl.  
  
Remy didn't like this action and decided to take a step in front of his little sister protectively.  
  
Chloe looked at her surroundings and smirked when her eyes caught a rusted crowbar among the trashcans. She lifted the crowbar over her head, aiming it at Remy who had his back to her. Steadily she raised it higher and swung it at Gambit's back. She would have knocked him out if something hadn't interfered with her plans too.  
  
Chloe, the real Chloe, tackled Mystique to the ground, knocking the weapon out of the fake's hand. "Get off of me you little brat." Mystique ordered, still in the form of Chloe and trying to get the real Chloe off of her.  
  
"No.not until you.change." Chloe said stubbornly between the hair pulling, scratching, wrestling and rolling around on the pavement.  
  
"Chloe?" Remy was very confused when he turned around to see his sister tackling.his sister. "What be goin on ere? Who.which one o' you is de real Chloe?" Gambit inquired.  
  
The girls stopped killing each other to hear him. "I am." They both said in unison. "Are not." "Are too." They both said childishly, then went right back to battling each other as soon as he'd stopped talking.  
  
The baffled Gambit had no idea of what was going on and Sabretooth took advantage of this. He picked the crowbar up and bashed it into Remy's leg, causing the Cajun to fall to his knees.  
  
Remy tried to get up but was turned around by Creed. Sabretooth punched Gambit in the face twice before moving on and kicking him in the sides. Remy yelled out in agony as Sabretooth sliced into his flesh in his chest and he began to slowly bleed. This really wasn't his week for injuries.  
  
Chloe heard her brother yell and looked up to see Sabretooth kicking him around. "No, Remy!" She called out to her brother and stood from her current fight with Mystique. "Get away from him you big flea motel." She yelled, running over to Gambit's side and forming two very high voltage electric orbs in her hands.  
  
Before she could do anything to help though, Mystique tackled her and pinned her to the ground. "This would have been so much easier if you had just kept away you nosy little nuisance." Mystique said angrily as she watched her future member get pummeled to death.  
  
"Sorry." Chloe replied casually. "I'm a little sister. Butting in and being nosy is basically what I do." She stated, smirking before head butting her opponent.  
  
Mystique was knocked back momentarily and Chloe sat up, rubbing her forehead. "Ow! That looked a lot less painful in the movies." She groaned before getting kicked in the face by her double and landing on the floor again.  
  
She was about to be kicked in the stomach and be out of the games for good when Kurt appeared in a cloud of sulfur. "Sorry to interrupt zis little love fest but I need to borrow her." Kurt said, grabbing Chloe's wrist and porting them both away.  
  
"I have to go back. I have to help Remy." Chloe stated, pulling out of Night Crawler's grip. They had landed on the rooftop above the alley.  
  
"Right. And getting yourself killed vill help him how?" He asked.  
  
"I wasn't getting myself killed. I was about to totally kick her ass until you showed up and took me here." She stated, though she knew full well that it was a total lie.  
  
"Oh zank you ever so much for rescuing me from ze evil mutant about to kill me Kurt." He said in a voice much higher then his own, obviously trying to sound like Chloe. "Oh no problem Chloe. I mean all I did vas risk mine life to save you." He said in his own voice, hinting that, that was what should have been said.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Back on the ground Sabretooth had picked up Remy and was about to throw him against one of the walls but something stopped his body from meeting the bricks.  
  
Jean stepped into view with her hands on her temples. She was using her telekinesis to prevent Remy's face from getting bashed into the building.  
  
Gambit was set back on the ground next to Jean who was now accompanied by Evan and Kitty. "Kitty, Rogue's in the dumpster to your left. Phase through it and grab her." Jean said, not even opening her eyes. She was concentrating on throwing trashcans at Sabretooth with her powers.  
  
"Eww! Like gross." Kitty said, taking a deep breath, holding it and pinching her nose before phasing in and out of the box with Evan.  
  
Somebody had to carry Rogue and she definitely couldn't do that and concentrate on phasing at the same time so Evan would have to do it.  
  
"Aw man Rogue girl. You couldn't have been trapped somewhere that didn't reek so badly?" Evan asked.  
  
"Evan you moron. She's like unconscious. I don't think she's going to like answer." Kitty said bluntly.  
  
"Okay dats it. What de hell is goin on here?" Gambit asked impatiently. He saw Rogue and dismissed the question for the moment as he took her from Evan and held her in his arms protectively.  
  
He looked down at her, wishing he could hold her closer and with more ease but he was too weak to do either. He just held her still body.  
  
Then they all heard a loud growl. Sabretooth was getting angrier and Jean was getting weaker. "I can't hold them off much longer guys. Where's Night Crawler with Chloe?" She asked.  
  
"Chloe be right over here." Remy said as Mystique walked over to him.  
  
"Yeah. Thank goodness you all came when you did. I thought for sure were doomed." Chloe said, wrapping an arm around Gambit.  
  
"Cajun get the hell away from her. She aint who she looks like." Logan said, lunging toward Creed just as Jean collapsed to the floor from over use of her powers.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Look, I'm grateful okay. Really I am but right now I'm not the one that needs saving, Remy is." Chloe said to the blue elf.  
  
"But Gambit vould vant you to be safe. Ve have all been doing zis fighting thing a lot longer zen you have." He reasoned with her.  
  
"But I can't just sit here doing nothing. I feel so useless." She said looking down at Logan and Creed who were currently duking it out.  
  
Kurt sighed in defeat as he looked over at the girl. She looked back at him and saw in his eyes that she'd somehow one the argument.  
  
"Come on." He said, knowing he'd lost the fight as he grabbed her hand and they both ported back to the ground.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Remy you moron! You can't tell the difference between your own sister and some honey lunatic?" Chloe asked in disbelief as she saw Mystique and Remy together.  
  
Kurt and Chloe had ported over to the ground and Kurt was assisting Jean to her feet.  
  
Remy had just handed Rogue to Storm who was taking her and Jean to the X- van. "Huh?" He inquired, looking at Mystique.  
  
She smirked devilishly. "Oops." She said innocently, morphing into her blue form. She then did a perfect roundhouse kick into Remy's face, kicked him in his wounded chest and morphed into a raven before flying off. Her plan had failed.  
  
Remy fell to the ground, giving in to his final attack. Chloe rushed to his side and hugged him. "Oh no don't. You're so not getting out of this that easily." She said, trying to remove some of the pain. "Your not allowed to die until I say I told you so about a million more times." She laughed, releasing him from her grip.  
  
She gasped, seeing his blood on her hand when she let him go. "Remy!" She shouted, but even after she shook him vigorously he'd already passed out.  
  
Rogue decided to choose this moment to wake up. The X-van had been driven to the alley to meet the others and the doors were open so she could see everything. She sat up, rubbing her head but froze when she became aware of the scene she was witnessing.  
  
Gambit was lying on the ground, his head in Chloe's lap. She shook him fiercely before stopping only to brake into tears. "Hang on Remy. Please just hang on a little longer." She pleaded as Evan and Kurt lifted his body and teleported over to the van.  
  
Even Piotr had stopped his attack toward Shadow Cat who was unaware of his presence. He hadn't attacked her, and he easily could have done so with her attention being elsewhere.  
  
Rogue wasn't really sure why the massive mutant neglected to hurt her friend but didn't really care much at the moment. Her concerns were more focused on a beaten Remy that was placed next to her as the doors closed.  
  
Rogue only stared in shock at everything going on and then at Gambit's nearly lifeless form beside her. The fight was over and they'd gotten Remy back, but would it be too late?  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Yeah I know, I know Remy got the crap kicked outta him but guess what, Romyness is around the corner. Duh! Of course I'm not gonna kill off Remy. It's like a rule. It's not allowed. What would the world be like without Remy?  
  
Okay people sorry for such a long wait for updating but I had and sorta still have writers block and my computer went on the fritz and I lost like a big peace of the chapter on top of that but I got it back like two days later. Don't ya hate it when that happens?  
  
Anyways you guyz know the drill. I wrote, now you review, and I'll write again. I'm not even gonna start writing the next chapter until I get at least five reviews.okay maybe I'll just brainstorm cuz I luv you guyz so much. Thanx for reading. now review!  
  
-AngieX 


	13. Don't go down the rabbit hole

Hey Peeps!  
  
I'm back! Sorry about not updating. I would have had this chapter up like a week ago or something but I had a big chunk of it on a disc that I lost and then found right after I wrote the missing bit over, plus my computer is being mean and not letting me on the internet so I have to make due with what I can.  
  
Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapters. Please keep up the fine tradition and review for this one as well!  
  
I'm in Florida right now and I've just driven for like 16 hours or something with my parents and a laptop, so I've had time to work on it and make it a little better.  
  
I'll be in Florida for another two weeks for vacation and my sister has a computer with internet in her apartment in Orlando I think so I should be able to update one more time. I need ideas though so don't hesitate to review.  
  
Its essential that I get the reviews very soon. I might be able to check my reviews after this week ends but its very doubtful so please review with ideas for the next chapter okay. Thanx!  
  
Speaking of reviewers, here are my replies to some of the ones that wrote me.  
  
REVIEW REPLIES  
  
SuperKat - Sry bout not updating. I explained above. And as for the pairing of Piotr and Kitty, your totally on the right track. I figured I'd put it it there subtly and mabe work a bit more with it in future chapters. What do you think about that idea?  
  
jiana weasley - Thanx. Sry bout the long update. Hope this chapter is worth the wait too.  
  
Rogue Warrior Spirit- Lol! Thanx hun! And if Romy's what ya want, then Romy's what ya'll are gonna get. With yours and other reviewers help I'll be able to get in more chapters with Romy in them. but its all up to you cause you're the ones giving me ideas and situations for Romyness to take place okay.  
  
ishandahalf -glad you like the chapter. I'll update ASAP okay. And yes, as you say.'cool beans!'  
  
Girl number 1- Thanx. I wasn't sure if I was over doing it with her powers or what. Oh and don't worry, I'll keep it in mind that killing Remy in my fic would more then likely seal my own fate with the same results. :P Review again plz.  
  
And now for your feature presentation.  
  
CHAPTER 13 -Don't go down the rabbit hole- Remy's eyes fluttered open lightly, but shut them quickly when the bright lights dawned on him. A few minutes later he decided he'd better open his eyes and find out what was going on. He forced himself into an upright position, leaning on his elbows. He was in bed, with a few wires stuck to his bare chest. Gambit tugged at the wires that were also connected to a heart monitor by the bed. He looked over next to his bed and found Chloe curled up in an armchair next to him. She was sleeping soundly and he really didn't want to wake her but he also wanted to hug her and let her know everything was all right. One thing for sure, Mystique was not one of his favorite people at the moment. Chloe stirred a bit in her sleep, muttering something in French. He sighed inwardly as she soon drifted back to her silent sleep. "She's been here the entire time. I think she will be most pleased to see that you have awoken," Xavier said, rolling into the room. Remy looked back at his sister to see if she'd woken from Xavier's voice. She remained curled up in her catlike ball looking very content.  
  
Of course she's still asleep. She sleeps like a rock. The institute could be under attack and she'd sleep through it easily. "Professa." "Yes Remy?" "Would ya mind tellin' Remy what de hell been goin on roun' here?" He asked, very confused. "Ah yes. You wish to know more of recent events, correct?" Xavier asked, though it was more of a statement then a question. Xavier explained all that had happened over the past few days that Gambit was totally surprised and unknown to. "Y' mean ta' tell me de hedge garden.an' Chloe. an' Rogue hittin Remy an. Oh, dat aint right. Dis Mystique chick be messed up non?" Remy said, shaking his head with disapproval. "Er.yes I guess you could say she was erm. messed-up, as you put it. She is still Kurt's mother, though, so if you would, please refrain from giving your opinion of her in Night Crawler's presence. I am not sure what his feelings are for her exactly at the moment but they probably don't match yours." Xavier said.  
  
Gambit nodded as if to say he'd understood. Magneto had filled all the Acolytes in on Mystique's past and her relations with Night Crawler so it was no surprise to him when Xavier told him that Kurt was the crazy women's son. "Rogue doesn't actually care," Xavier continued. "What does de Rogue Belle gotta do wit all dis?" Xavier looked at the boy like he was a naive little child who knew nothing of the current subject. "Well.technically Rogue was adopted by Mystique when she was younger, only she was never around and Rogue ended up living with another mutant woman who was close friends of Mystique. Rogue herself is just now finding out this information and well. she's not as keen on the family situation as Mystique might have hoped." When Xavier was finished Gambit sat, dumbfounded, trying to process what he was just told. "Damn! Dis place be like one o' Tante Matte's Soaps," he said after a while. "No Alice! Don't go down the rabbit hole!" Chloe said in her sleep. Remy grinned widely at this, and at the look of confusion on the old man's face. "Alice an' Wonderlan'. It be her favorite movie growin' up," Remy explained to the man, who nodded sagely.  
  
"I'll leave you two alone. Give you a chance to talk." Xavier said, turning and wheeling out of the room.  
  
Remy noticed Beast closing the door behind the Professor and following him down the hallway.  
  
The Cajun looked over at his younger sister and sighed loudly. 'She looks so peaceful and innocent when she's asleep.yet so hyperactive and stubborn when she's awake.' He thought, smirking.  
  
As if she could feel his gaze on her, she woke slowly and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Remy? Is that you?" She asked, fixing her blurry vision.  
  
"Oui Petite. De one an' only." He answered.  
  
She stood and scooted into bed with him. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay. I've been so worried." She said, jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly.  
  
Remy let out an 'OOF' when he was tackled by the girl. "Petite, Remy be betta but dat don' mean y' aint crushin him where his injuries be." He said, in a voice that made him sound like he was being choked.  
  
He pried her off of him so that she was sitting down next to him in the hospital bed. "Well y' don' gotta stop huggin me completely now." He said, as he was bombarded with another hug, a little gentler then the last one.  
  
Chloe pulled herself away from her brother and smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow! What was dat fo'?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"I specifically said not to let me find your beaten and bruised body in an alley somewhere, and what do you do? You go and get yourself beaten up. in an alley of all places. If it weren't for John talking and that stupid vision of mine you'd so be dead." She said, looking very peeved at her older brother. "Are you trying to get me mad at you?" She asked.  
  
"Sorry mere." He said, sulking and giving his best pouting puppy dog face.  
  
"Oh no, not the puppy dog face! You can't use the puppy dog face on me. That's mine!" She complained before finally caving and slouching down, leaning on her brother.  
  
They talked for about an hour about everything going on and what they should do in the future. They also talked about Chloe's little outburst that had occurred days before.  
  
"But you still didn't tell me why.why you wouldn't look at me straight in the face as much as you used to. Why you get that look on your own face like you just swallowed a jar of Tante Matte's Spicy Jalapeño peppers when you look at me sometimes." She said, making a face of what it would in fact look like if he had pulled such a stunt.  
  
He laughed and pulled her closer, making sure he was looking her straight in the eyes this time. "First of all aint nobody crazy nough t' eat a jar o' Tante Matta's Peppas. Second, Y' gotta know dat Remy don' tink it be yo' fault dat mere an' pere. dat de accident aint yo' fault." He said, not able speak of his parent's tragic death yet.  
  
"So why won't you look at me? What is it? Is something wrong with me?" She asked.  
  
No, no! Dat not it at all." He said quickly.  
  
"Then what is it, Remy? Tell me. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." She said stubbornly.  
  
He look a deep breath and sighed it out when he exhaled. "De reason Remy don' be lookin at ya isn't cause he don' wanna. It be cause every time Remy look at his petite soeur he don' see her. He see his Mere. Our Mere. Y' lookin like her mo an' mo every day. An' it remins him of her. Remins him o' how beau she was. An' how beau your turnin' out." He finished and saw tears filling up her eyes.  
  
"You know this is a whole lot of emotional Trauma for a fifteen year old to have to go through." She said before wrapping her arms around him yet again and hugging him, while sobbing.  
  
Remy was feeling guilty that he made his little sister cry when he realized they were tears of happiness.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~A while later~  
  
"Okay Remy I'm gonna go get you another pillow and your food okay. I'll be back in a couple minutes. Do not get out of bed. You're going to stay here and rest and that's an order from Dr. McCoy himself." Chloe stated as she stood from the bed and walk out of the room.  
  
She closed the door behind her and he slumped back into the covers. 'Well hey, if Remy gonna be stuck here den he might as well enjoy it.' He thought, closing his eyes again.  
  
He was fully awake, just enjoying the nice, relaxing quiet that he had and was seldom given. 'Wonder what food Chloe be bringin up. Don't matta as long as it aint dat Kitty femme who be doin de cookin. Remys heard stories bout her famous death-to-all cuisine.  
  
Just then he was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a light tapping at the door. "Chloe? Are ya awake?" Rogue asked in a whispered voice, entering the room cautiously and quietly.  
  
Remy quickly shut his eyes and pretended to still be in his coma at the site of her white bangs bordering her face. She was actually wearing her hair up in a ponytail but two white stripes still hung down from her ears. She looked like she was wearing blue jean shorts and a sports bra with netting covering her bare skin.  
  
'Now why don't mon chere ever dress up like dat when Remy be conscious?' He thought, the urge of seeing her face again tempting him ever so much to open his eyes just for another glimpse of her beauty.  
  
Rogue looked at the vacant chair and decided that Chloe must have finally gone down for dinner. She moved gently over to his bedside and sat down in the chair.  
  
For a minute she'd said nothing. Only sighing once or twice and blowing her loose hair strands out of her eyes. Then she'd finally decided to speak up.  
  
"Ya know Ah didn't mean ta punch ya lahk that ya dumb ol' Swamp Rat." She told his pretending unconscious body.  
  
"Ah mean how tha hell was Ah supposed ta know Mystique pulled anotha trick on us? Not lahk I'm psychic or nuthin." She argued.only sounding foolish because it was against herself.  
  
"It aint lahk Ah felt good about it.well okay so Ah did feel pretty good afta beatin ya up but that aint tha point." She said, sighing deeply, placing her gloved hand on his blanketed chest supportively.  
  
"Tha point is that Ah can't help but feel sorta responsible fer ya takin off so quick. If ya don't get ova this beatin soon an' wake up fer all o' us then things are really gonna.well ta put it bluntly their gonna suck." She said, laughing a little but dismissing it with guiltier grieving.  
  
"I'll neva fo'give mahself if ya'll don't get betta soon. The team needs ya. Chloe needs ya." There was a long pause before Rogue continued. "Ah need ya." She let out before grasping his hand in her gloved one.  
  
"If ya'll are listenin." Rogue said, looking up at the ceiling. "Let him be okay. Let him pull through this even though all tha odds are against the damn Cajun." She said in an almost pleading voice.  
  
Remy was itching to just open his eyes and show her he was okay but he held on and stayed in his knocked out position. Even if he did let down his acting to show her he was okay, she'd still bop him hard upside the head for faking a concussion.  
  
"Aw Hell, Ah'd even go out on a date with tha moron if ya let him wake up." She said.  
  
Then she heard a mumbling sound and looked over to see Remy moving his head very slightly. (pays to be a good actor, non?)  
  
"Mrfl?" Remy mumbled, stirring a little to show her that he was supposedly miraculously waking from his coma. He let out a sigh and opened his eyes to see own wide eyes staring back at him with astonishment.  
  
"Ugh.Chere, ya mind tellin Remy jus how he got here?" He asked curiously.  
  
"Yo.Yo alive!" She said finally.  
  
"Looks dat way, non?" He asked more as a matter-of-fact like way then an actual question.  
  
"Thank God.not that Ah was all that worried o' nuthin. Wouldn't want that Cajun head a yers gettin any bigga then it already is." She said quickly.  
  
"Uh-huh." He said skeptically looking her over a few times now that he could.  
  
She realized that he was watching her.all of her and stood up. "What? Were ya a vulture in anotha life time o' somethin?" She asked offensively.  
  
"Hey Chere, can Remy ask y' something?" He inquired, sitting up a little in his bed. Man he was good at this acting stuff.  
  
"Ah don't see why not.just be expected ta get yerself slapped if it aint propriate fo' kids unda thirteen."  
  
"Non, it aint dat kind o' question...Remy'll ask ya dem lata, when he be healed enough ta move outta de way of ya slaps." He said playfully before winking at her mischievously.  
  
"Just ask the damn question Swamp Rat." She ordered, rolling her eyes at his lame reply.  
  
"Well.Remy be wonderin.If de Tres Beau Femme would maybe.give him de honor o' goin out wit him one night?"  
  
He asked hopefully, looking up at her and giving her puppy eyes.  
  
Yes, Remy Le Beau is more known for his come-ons being cocky and arrogant and able to make a girl melt in his hands. This time however, he found himself using a different approach.  
  
He'd already heard her say she would go out on a date with him, now all he had to do was play up the part of the weak innocent boy in the hospital bed.maybe add some puppy-dog eyes for good measures and she was his.  
  
He had to admit that lying like this and leading her on to make her think he was sicker then really was wasn't the most honest way of doing it, but he was determined to get to know her and if this was the only way to start then it would have to do.  
  
"Ya mean.Lahk a date?" Rogue asked, though she felt stupid afterwards for doing so.  
  
'Of course a date ya moron. Why else would he be askin ya out?' She thought to herself.  
  
"Chere?" He asked, when she was silent and not answering for a minute or so.  
  
"Huh? Oh! I uh." She didn't know what to say. Yes she had been getting these feelings whenever he came around and sure he seemed like a pretty decent guy but did she really want to get involved with a man like Remy?  
  
Especially knowing that he'd obviously gotten around with quite a few girls already judging from his personality and attitude. That and the fact that her little 'skin condition wouldn't be much fun for either of them to deal with.  
  
Yet he seemed so determined.and the way he asked was actually decent. Not some cocky, lame come on you hear from those dorks on the streets who try to come off as players or pimps.  
  
This was taking her longer then he'd thought. 'Maybe she wasn't buying the act.' He thought when she still didn't give him an answer.  
  
She exhaled a deep sigh and looked into his red on black eyes again. "Ya know what...why not? Who knows, it could even be fun." She said, smiling a little.  
  
He beamed back at her and kissed her on the hand. "THANK YOU MY PERFECT, GOTHIC ANGEL. YOU'VE MADE ME THE HAPPIEST MAN ALIVE!" He told her.  
  
'So much for not having lame lines.' She thought, rolling her eyes. Though she did blush ever so slightly and unfortunately noticeably to the boy.  
  
"First of all Swamp Rat, Ah aint nobody's nuthin. Second, Ah sure as hell aint no Angel, and third, Ya aint man Cajun. Yer a boy." She said, smirking. He two smirked. Dis femme be de one.She may not know it yet but dat sometin Remy can work around.' He thought, his smirk growing.  
  
"Ahem." Am I interrupting something here?" Chloe asked, looking at the two mutants as she poked her head through the door.  
  
Rogue had just at that moment realized how close she was to Gambit and stood away from him immediately.  
  
"That's all ya gotta say afta ya brotha wakes up from a life threatenin Coma?" Rogue asked the young girl who's smirk was now beaming at the two.  
  
"Life threatening coma? Rogue what the hell are you babbling on about? Remy's been up for at least an hour or more now. I just went down to get him some food." Chloe explained to the Goth who was staring blankly at her.  
  
"Took me a while though cause Kitty kept offering her *gag* delicious blueberry muffins. I tried one of them once before and I ended up spending the morning in the hospital area with Doctor McCoy." Chloe stated, remembering the horrible event that had occurred just the morning before.  
  
"He WHAT?" Rogue asked, her rage rising as she looked over at the Cajun who had apparently been awake during her entire speech that he wasn't supposed to hear.  
  
'Ugh. Dat femme gonna be de end o' Remy.' He thought, hearing his little sister spill his secret.  
  
"Ya dirty Swamp rat!" She said throwing a pillow at him.  
  
"HEY! Stop that!" Chloe shouted, blocking Rogue's aim.  
  
"Oh dank God fo' lil souers." Remy thought.  
  
"I'm a Swamp rat too ya know. If your going to call him something do it without using the words Swamp rat as insulting." Chloe said, smiling as she moved out of Rogue's way for her brother to get pummeled.  
  
"Huh? Oof!" Remy was attacked with a fluffy pillow in the face by Rogue who was venting her slight anger and embarrassment out on the boy.  
  
"Danks a heap petite." He said sarcastically to his retreating little sister.  
  
"Oh no prob bro. Now you two play nice." She said before closing the door and smiling gleefully.  
  
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She waited outside the door a minute to make sure the Goth hadn't done her brother in before leaving.  
  
She was absolutely psyched and out and out giddy about the fact that the two of them, though Rogue may not realize it, were definitely flirting.  
  
"I have so got to tell Kitty." She said aloud in an excited, pitched voice that girls get when something romantic happens to another one of them before she sprinted to her friend's bedroom.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"You lyin jerk." Rogue said, tossing a pillow at Remy's head.  
  
Remy dodged the pillow and laughed. "Well now technically chere, Remy didn' lie to ya. He jus' didn' open his eyes." He said, smirking at how mad she was getting.  
  
'Damn she be hot when she's angry.' He thought looking her over once more.  
  
"And stop starin at mah like that." She ordered, and against her wishes, blushed.  
  
He laughed again and she threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated and defeated sigh and turned to leave.  
  
"Chere, wait!" Remy said pleadingly.  
  
Rogue sighed again and turned to face him from her standing position in the door frame. That was probably her biggest mistake, because when she did, she met his eyes and was instantly lost in them.  
  
She didn't know why, but every time she looked into his eyes she wanted more. It was like staring into the eyes of the devil. They were enchanting, putting her into a trance.  
  
They gave off rebellion and mystery and Rogue could feel it in his eyes and hers. She felt as though she could stay there and stare into those mystifying orbs forever.  
  
Something pulled her back to reality though and she waited for Gambit to speak.  
  
"Well?" She asked, impatiently waiting for an answer with her hands crossed over her chest.  
  
"Remy.he's sorry fo' misleadin ya. But ya gotta know chere, he only did it cause he wanted t' be near ya so much." He said, looking straight back into her emerald orbs as she did to his.  
  
Rogue sighed again. She knew she'd lost the argument. "Alright Swamp Rat, Ah fo'give ya. Just don't do it again ya hear?" She said, putting her arms at her side in a relaxed way.  
  
"Oui, Remy tinks he can make dat promise fo' a PRETTY GIRL such as yo'self." He said, winking and grinning up at her.  
  
"So.we still on fo' dat date y' promised Remy?" He asked with an even bigger grin on his face.  
  
"Fine, what ever. Just don't expect me ta open up or nuthin, and I aint wearin a dress or clingin on t' ya like yer fan club down stairs." She stated, referring to the newly recruited girls of the X-men.  
  
"Oui, but don' expect Remy not ta be flirtin wit ya, treatin ya like a lady o' embarrassin ya by showin y' some much needed attention in front o yo' friends jus' cause ya not in a dress." He said right back to her.  
  
"Deal." She said, walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.  
  
"Dis gonna be good." He said, smiling broadly, leaning back in the bed.  
  
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Okay People! That was it. Hope you enjoyed it. That was with Romyness and all so I hope you all got what you wanted. Don't worry there's so much more to come.  
  
As always I want you to review and I'm not updating until I have at least five or more reviews. I'd rather have more though so please review now that you've already read the chapter.  
  
I'm driving to Florida on the 26th of July with my parents to visit my sister in Orlando so I'll have like a day and a half or more in the car with my laptop to work on the fic.  
  
Unfortunately my sister is moving and she will have unplugged her computer already so I probably won't be able to update for another two weeks.  
  
Who knows though, I find loopholes in almost everything so I might find one for this and be able to update before two weeks. Don't count on it though.  
  
I know, I know. It was totally sappy in a lot of parts and all. The date is a very crucial event though and I need some ideas. It won't be for a few more chapters though. Don't worry; there will be tons more Romy goodness before and after their first date to hold you over.  
  
Review so I get them before I leave and can be inspired by them for ideas on the next chapter. I need ideas for the next chapter people. Drawing a blank here guyz!  
  
Okay now be nice and go review please. Thanx for reading peeps! Peace out! 


	14. Beach Brainstorm

Hey Peeps!  
  
Wow, Thanx for reviewing all of you. Glad you liked the last chapter. Hope you can say the same for this one. I'm back from Florida, nice and tanned, and oh yeah, I drove all the way back to MD so I've written more then just this chapter which will be posted shortly. Nets still on the fritz though. Sry people! I'm just going to cut to the reviewers and answer them now okay.  
  
Review Replies  
  
Ishandahalf- I luv ur reviews. I'm not a bunny on crack but I'll try my best to get these next chapters up. Sry this chapter isnt the date and neither is the next one but both have Romyness in them. Hope that'll hold ya for now. Need ideas for the date.  
  
Pixie Flyer- Thanx, I try my best to keep the fic moving along smoothly. I think its gotten a better flow to it the more I've been working on it. Oh and thanx as well about the powers opinion. I'm glad reviewers thought it was a good idea.  
  
Yumiko- Yes it appears that I am alive. Sry, but I couldn't update where I was. My nets still being stubborn though but hey, that's what the library is for. Either way don't worry, I'll be getting the chapters updated somehow if it kills me.well hopefully it wont. Romy in this and the next chapter just so you know.  
  
Girl number 1- Thanx, I know, I wish I could update more often but my computer wont let me. *Sigh* oh well. Hey thanx for the ideas. "You're the only one that wrote some down for me. I wish more people would though. I might use your ideas or work them into my story some how. Hopefully it will all turn out good.  
  
And now our feature presentation.  
  
Chapter 14 Beach Brainstorm  
  
"Rogue like wake up!" Kitty said, nudging her roommate who was covered by the blankets on her bed.  
  
Rogue mumbled something about it being to early and promising to get up in five minutes if Kitty would just leave her alone for the time being. She of course had no intentions of getting up at all but whatever she could do to get the Valley girl to leave her alone was for the better.  
  
It had been a week and a half sense Remy had come to stay with them at the institute, weather he liked it or not, and he'd finally been well enough to get up and do active things with people in the past two days.  
  
That was why she was so tired. Remy, Choe, Kurt, Scott, Jean and Rogue had all stayed up watching old horror movies the previous night until around three in the morning.  
  
Scott and Jean had gone to bed after the first two flicks and Kurt ported upstairs with Kitty when the two started getting sleepy after the fourth or fifth movie. That left Rogue, Remy, and Chloe alone in the Rec room to finish off the very high stack of rented blockbusters.  
  
Chloe sat in the middle of the two older teens to Remy's dismay and Rogue's relief. Though she too drifted off to sleep during the opening credits of House on Haunted Hill.  
  
Remy and Rogue didn't notice it until something scary happened in the movie and Chloe didn't scream and latch on to Remy's arm, digging her nails into his skin as she usually did as a reflex of being scared from movies.  
  
Remy wanted to put his sleeping sister in her room and go back downstairs to be alone with Rogue but he was sure that the Goth would catch what he was doing and go to bed herself while he was gone, so he left her where she was.  
  
Rogue couldn't help but smile when she was Remy pick Chloe up when the movie ended and carefully carry her to her room.  
  
'Well what'dya know, the Cajun's got a soft spot.' She thought, grinning as she herself took the flight of stairs to her room. It was four fifteen when she finally got undressed, into her sleepwear and went to sleep herself.  
  
Now it was six in the morning and her all too eager roommate was poking at the lump under the covers, which was Rogue, trying to get her out of bed.  
  
"Kitty what the hell are ya'll tryin ta do, get yerself killed? Ya know I don't wake up till at least eight on Saturdays when Logan aint doin trainin sessions." Rogue said grumpily, lifting the blankets over her head and burying herself in her pillows for much needed sleep.  
  
"But then your gonna like miss it." Kitty whined, prying the bedspread off of her friend and earning herself a death glare from her roommate.  
  
"What am Ah gonna miss Kitty? What the hell are ya goin on about.at six in the mornin' on a Saturday no less." Rogue inquired, studying her friend's change of clothing style.  
  
The Valley girl was wearing a reveling bikini, way too skimpy for Rogue's taste, short shorts, her normal sandal like shoes, and a bathing suit cover that matched her Hawaiian patterned swim suit. Sunglasses were resting on the girls head, and her hair was pulled back into a higher ponytail then usual.  
  
"What the hell are ya wearin?" Rogue asked her friend.  
  
"A bikini. What does it look like?" The Valley girl answered simply.  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ah meant why are ya wearin it? Logan said the pool aint gonna be fixed till next weekend and there aint a pool in this town that'll let a mutant in without in givin em a hard time or watchin their every move." Rogue explained, pulling off her blankets from her legs and getting out of bed.  
  
"Well duh. That's why we're not going to the pool today. We're going to the beach in Ocean City." Kitty answered as if it were totally obvious."  
  
"Uh-huh. And exactly how do ya'll plan on gettin' there hmm? Scott's car is in the shop and Jean's car aint fittin all of us." The Goth inquired.  
  
"Jean and Scott are only taking the newer recruits that want to go. Remy's taking the rest of us. After all it was his idea to go to the beach in the first place." Kitty told her, walking over to her dresser and pulling out a bottle of sunscreen, applying it on her arms and legs.  
  
"Huh?" Rogue questioned, her head jerking up at the mention of the Cajun's name.  
  
"Yeah, you're the only one we're waiting on, so get up and get dressed." Kitty said, walking over to her closet and grabbing her towel and stuffing it into a bag that also matched her bikini.  
  
"Oh ya know what, Ah just remembered Ah got somethin' Ah gotta do today so Ah can't be joinin ya'll on yer little beach trip." Rogue said, pulling on her normal clothes.  
  
"Sides, Ah don't even think Ah own a bathin suit." She said, looking in the mirror and dragging a brush through her auburn hair.  
  
Kitty was silent. She didn't know what to say without getting into the touchy subject of her powers.  
  
"Oh well. I guess I'll like have to go and break the news to Gambit. He was really looking forward to you coming." Kitty said, walking toward the door.  
  
"Wait. What are ya up to Kitty?" Rogue asked. The Valley girl could never hide it when she was up to something, and at the time being, that something was having to do with the Goth girl herself.  
  
Kitty's face was flushed for a few seconds at the accusation but was erased soon after. "Nothing." Kitty said anxiously before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.  
  
Rogue walked over to her window and drew open the curtains. She stepped out onto the balcony, risking being seen from afar by her teammates without her make-up on. She leaned on the balcony and watched as Scott and Remy loaded up the X-Jeep and Jean's SUV.  
  
Remy looked up and caught sight of Rogue leaning on her Balcony. He winked at her, grinning flirtatiously before continuing to lift the water skis into the car.  
  
A moment later She saw Kitty hurrying outside as Remy and Scott turned to look at the Valley girl to hear what she had to say. The next minute, when Kitty had stopped talking, Remy looked up at Rogue through his sunglasses and then walked inside, obviously on his way up.  
  
Rogue really didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment, especially if they were going to try and convince her to come on the trip, which Kitty had obviously told the two boys when she came out of the house.  
  
She threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Since practically no one was going to be at the institute she might as well roam around in normal summer- ware, as opposed to her regular covered safe assured attire.  
  
She grabbed her walkman and her latest horror novel, thinking that the best place to seek refuge from anyone who be the library on the first floor. She ran to her door and swung it open, only to come smacking into a human wall.  
  
"Y' takin off fo' Remy get a chance ta change ya mind chere?" Gambit asked, leaning on the door frame and blocking her entrance.  
  
Rogue blew a stray strand of her pallid bangs out of her face and tucked it behind her ear absently.  
  
"And what exactly would make meh wanna change mah mind Swamp Rat? Ah already told Kitty Ah got betta stuff ta do then takin a road trip ta tha beach." She told him.  
  
"And why not mon petite?" He asked, cocking his head to the left.  
  
"Well incase yer thick head didn' notice, skin on skin contact without sendin one a mah friends into a coma an' Ah can't really have a whole lotta fun in the sun wearin long sleeves while everybody else is in bathin suits." Rogue explained impatiently, holding up her arms to show him that they were bare.  
  
She expected him to flinch, or back up, or step away, or something. Anything, but instead he just stood the same way he had before she had shown him her bare skin. He just stood there with that same annoying smirk on his face like her curse was no big deal to him. Like it didn't matter.  
  
"How bout dis petite." Remy said, standing up straight like Rogue, and taking off his glasses. He slid them into his trenchcoat pocket and looked down at the Goth, who was waiting for him to continue.  
  
'If y' can beat dis Cajun at a fight den he aint gonna make ya go.but if ya don' win den Remy might have ta tell de Wolverine how y' an' de kitty-cat were de ones who trough out his smokes." Gambit said, looking out the window at Logan, who was currently trying to round up about seven Jamies for whatever the reason. He did not look like he was having a good time doing so.  
  
"You wouldn't!" Rogue said, a little shocked that he'd found out in the first place.  
  
"In a heart beat." He said, a devilish smile creeping onto his tan face.  
  
Rogue looked him straight in the eye for a full minute, as if trying to figure out weather or not he was bluffing. The Cajun did the same to her without blinking once, showing that he had every intention of doing everything possible to get her to come with them.  
  
"Fahn!" She said, pushing him out the door.  
  
"Remy tought ya said yo gonna battle him." He said, allowing her to shove him a bit, but still standing in the doorway.  
  
"Well unless ya'll wanna fight meh in nuthin but this" She said, pointing down at her semi skimpy attire that was definitely not acceptable for danger room practice. "Ah gotta change inta mah uniform."  
  
"Gambit wouldn' mind if ya take him on in nuttin but a sports bra." He said, grinning, and getting the door slammed hard in his face.  
  
"Perv!" She said, from the other side of the door.  
  
"Remy not a perv chere. He jus' be overly charmin toward de femmes, an' maybe he speaks his min' some o' de time. Dat a crime petite?" He inquired, but got no answer. Rogue had already started changing.  
  
Soon Rogue was dressed and headed down to the Danger room. "Why do Ah let mahself get pulled inta these things with that dumb-ass Cajun?" She asked aloud, reaching the doors of the Mansion's training area.  
  
"Cause ya cant resist dis dumb-ass Cajun even if ya wanted to." A voice said from behind her as Remy stepped forward and held the door open for the Goth gentlemanly.  
  
"Believe meh Swamp Rat, Ah wanna." She said grumpily, walking into the room.  
  
Remy followed, watching her backside as she walked by. Rogue of course knew this and didn't know weather to reach for pepper spray or blush furiously.  
  
She decided on the ladder of the two and just blushed profusely, quickening her pace so he could not see. He of course had noticed immediately though.  
  
"Chere, Remy don' know why ya hide yo' face when ya blush. It makes ya look gorgeous. Course it'd make ya look even hotta if ya didn' where dat makeup all de time. Right now ya aint wearin none an' ya look betta den eva." He told her.  
  
Rogue put her gloved hand to her face and winced. How could she forget her makeup AGAIN!?" This was the second time this week and Gambit had called her on it both times.  
  
"Are we gonna talk or are we gonna fight Cajun?" Rogue asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
"Hmm. well sense Remy got a choice, how bout we rassle?" He suggested, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively.  
  
"Looks lahk I'm not gonna need these then huh?" She asked, pulling off her gloves and tossing them behind her without a care.  
  
The attractive adolescent boy merely smirked at her action and lifted off his trenchcoat. "Den Remy don' need ta be usin dis." He said, letting it fall off his shoulders and onto the floor under him.  
  
His trenchcoat had been hiding a very chiseled chest and abs. Rogue stood there, gawking for a minute before snapping herself back to reality and readying a fighting stance.  
  
"So how we gonna do this Cajun?" She asked, as they circled each other.  
  
"Figured we'd jus' play roun' a bit." He answered, moving closer to her.  
  
"You wanna play Cajun? Okay, let's play!" She said, a smirk crossing her face as she made the first move. She punched in the air as he moved backward, easily dodging it as well as three more throws.  
  
She did a roundhouse kick, which caught him off guard and hurt him a bit. Afterwards though, he caught two punches that she threw at him one after another with gloved hands, turned her around, and pulled her into his chest.  
  
She tripped him with her left leg to his right one and pulled away, only to be pulled back in with the same move he'd just done. The only difference was that this time she was facing his chest as opposed to being back to chest.  
  
She got a strong whiff of his aftershave as he held her firmly. It was a mixture of very light cigarette smoke and spicy cologne. The kind of scent that normally a girl wouldn't go for but for some reason Rogue smelt it and wanted to fall into his arms like it was a sedative of some sort.  
  
He held her there for a minute while she breathed in and out for oxygen from her fighting. Gambit on the other hand hadn't broken a sweat so far.  
  
She struggled a bit and stepped on his foot before turning around and charging into him, body on body. She caught him off guard with this move and they both went tumbling to the ground.  
  
Rogue pinned her opponent to the mat and smirked. "Guess you'll ridin the waves solo today Le Beau." She said in triumph.  
  
"Oh don' be so sure petite." He said, smiling widely before rolling over and pinning her down as she did to him.  
  
Rogue struggled to get up as hard as she could but it was no use. They were inches apart. Rogue could feel the boy's breath on hers. Some invisible force was pushing them closer and closer together.  
  
*Cough* *Cough* The two kids turned their heads to see Logan standing in the doorway of the Danger Room. He cocked his head and raised his eyebrow, looking down at them.  
  
"Logan!" Rogue exclaimed, suddenly finding her strength and pushing Remy off of her. She stood and brushed herself off, not looking at Wolverine as a blush came onto her face.  
  
"Remy cursed under his breath at his bad luck in timing. He stood next to Rogue with a smirk on his face as opposed to blushing or being ashamed like Rogue.  
  
"You two schedule a training session I didn't know about?" Logan asked, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"No.no Remy and I were uh.." Rogue trailed off. She didn't know what to say. 'Fighting! Say fighting you idiot!" Her brain yelled, but she just stood there dumbly.  
  
"We were jus' playin aroun', oui petite?" Remy told him, turning to face the Goth.  
  
"Oh uh.right. Wait! No! No! There was no playin of any kind." She said firmly after realizing what the Cajun was implying.  
  
Gambits grin, if possible, spread even wider across his face. "Oh, den what would ya call it mon chere?"  
  
"Ah call it.Ah call it." She looked from Remy to Wolverine. Gambit was very much amused where as Logan was very much not and impatiently waiting for an answer.  
  
Rogue took a deep breath and cleared her head. "Ah call it fightin on account of a bet.an' loosin said bet." She said simply, walking out of the room and leaving the two X-men alone.  
  
"Well if dat be all homme, den Remy got a Beach trip t' get ready fo'." Remy said walking past Logan. He would have made it too if the Cajun weren't greeted with a set of razor-sharp adimantium claws and a low growl.  
  
"Stay Cajun." Logan barked.  
  
Remy did as he was told. He had to get through at least one older brother or father figure when dealing with any girl. He'd just have rather had the person be Kurt or Xavier, or even Beast, but not Wolverine.  
  
"Oui Monami?" He said innocently.  
  
"Don't give me non of that French crap Cajun. You and me both know what I'm here to talk to you about Bub." Logan said gruffly.  
  
"Look Cajun, Stripes.Stripes is important to me. Important to all of us but me especially. And it seems that she's taken a little bit of a liking to you for some unexplainable reason. That doesn't change the fact that she's chosen you as the kid to get close to around here. Don't take advantage of that Bub."  
  
Remy nodded silently as a reply. Any smart-ass remarks toward the man while discussing Rogue probably wouldn't be the smartest or safest thing on Remy's part to do.  
  
Now I don't think I have to tell you what'll happen to ya if you ever hurt her in any way now do I?" Wolverine asked, pointing his claws at the Cajun as if they were his fingers.  
  
"Non Monsuir Logan. No need fo' dat." Remy said, putting his hands up in defense.  
  
"Good. Now get outta here. I got some steam I wanna let out on Chuck's new battle simulation." Logan said, drawing in his claws and letting the boy pass, which he did.  
  
"Hey kid." Wolverine called after him.  
  
"Oui Monami?" Remy answered, stopping right outside the door.  
  
"You forgot your coat. And pass these along to Stripes while your at it." Wolverine said, tossing Remy's coat and Rogue's gloves at the boy, who caught them with ease.  
  
"Oui." He said walking down the hall.  
  
"Oh and Monsuer Logan." He said, without turning around.  
  
"Yeah kid?" Logan asked.  
  
"Neva touch a Teive's tings. Specially not his Trench Coat." He said, continuing his steady walk down the corridor.  
  
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AHHH!!!!  
  
I haven't been near a computer besides my non internet Laptop for a while now. How do I ever get through the days without reading all your wonderful reviews. *Ahem* *Ahem* Hint, Hint! The key word being Reviews!  
  
In other words please review this chapter. Not much going on in this chapter, I know. But it does leave open for a lot of possibilities for the next chapter now.  
  
Te he! Rogue got beat by Gambit of course and now she's gotta go on the little outing to the Beach in Ocean City. For those of you who don't know, yes Ocean City is an actual place. Like the board walk and the Florida Beaches with and Amusement park all in one. Actually that's exactly what it is.  
  
More ideas please. I've got some for the next chapter but I still need more. Oh and don't worry Remy lovers, I haven't forgotten about their date. It hasn't happened yet and it will be worth the wait. that is if I get reviews and ideas for the date.  
  
But only after ideas for the next chapter which will not, I repeat WILL NOT be the date. Plenty of Romyness in there for you though.  
  
Thanx for reading people. Now if you don't mind, Review! 


	15. Road Trip

CHAPTER 15  
  
Road Trip  
  
Review Replies  
  
the wolf- Thanx. I get what your saying and I assure you that, from one Logan fan to another, Wolverine will be less rough and threatening Remy. He's just not used to and doesn't like the idea of Remy getting too close to Rogue because he knows what guys are after and is worried for Rogue. Just think of how you'd feel if an older guy who used to work for the enemy and had a reputation for being a player was lying on top of a girl who you saw as a daughter. I'd let the claws out if it were me.  
  
Yumiko- Yes. I'm like marvel Super heroes and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I can die and come back more then once. Hope you like the next chapter.  
  
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"Kay we're ready to go." Chloe announced as Kitty and herself walked down the stairs of the front of the mansion, earning themselves a few low whistles from the guys by the cars.  
  
They were dressed in hardly anything, though in a very stylish way and this was with the bathing suit covers on them.  
  
The two mutants figured they'd have a better chance getting past the Professor and Logan without either of them giving the girls a hard time about their attire if they kept themselves barely clothed, as opposed to just the bikinis underneath.  
  
"De hell ya are!" Remy said, walking over to his little sister and giving her a shocked look. He glared at the boys who were hooting at them, which was probably a good thing because Kitty was about to blush to death from all the access attention.  
  
She'd wanted to wear the one piece she'd had in her closet but Chloe had somehow convinced her to go with the two-piece that they'd bought together at the mall the previous day.  
  
"What?" Chloe asked her brother. He slapped his hand over his eyes and groaned at how naive she was.  
  
"Dere be no way Remy's gon' let his petite souer wear dat in public." He said, grabbing his extra T-shirt from the trunk of Jean's SUV and shoving it over Chloe's head. "Dere, dats betta."  
  
Chloe sighed in aggravation and rolled her eyes. "Remy!" She wined. "This is so totally unfair!" She added, sulking at her brother who was obviously not in the sympathetic mood.  
  
"I'm almost, practically fifteen in three months or something! I should so be able to dress myself!" She complained.  
  
"Yeah Gambit, give her a break. I mean it doesn't bother any of us when she wears or talks the other girls into wearing stuff like that." Bobby said, winking at Jubilee and Amara who were in similar outfits. They rolled their eyes and groaned at his cockiness in return.  
  
"Thank you Bobby.now shut up before you make things worse." Chloe scolded, when she saw that his input in the conversation was not helping her case.  
  
"Hey I'm just trying to help the situation. I mean come on Remy, its not like that Conner guy is coming or anything. Now that boy is someone you should worry about." Bobby stated.  
  
"Not helping Ice dork." Chloe scolded, throwing a towl at him.  
  
Unfortunately Kurt chose that moment to port Amanda to the institute and got the towel in his face when it had been intercepted.  
  
Amanda giggled as he took the cloth out of his mouth and studied it. Amanda was coming on the trip as well with her boyfriend who had blushed insanely through all his blue furr and the holowatch when he saw her in her swim suit and had insisted that she'd covered up more or it would not be right for him to see her.  
  
She of course agreed and was now sporting an oversized T-shirt that stopped at her knees, similar to the one Chloe had been assigned.  
  
"Couldn't get past your dad without a cover huh?" Chloe asked, motioning to Amanda's attire.  
  
She'd seen Amanda's outfit before without the shirt when Amanda had shown her what she was going to where on their beach outing. The shirt was not part of the outfit.  
  
"Don't tell me, your dad freaked out when he saw you in it?" Chloe guessed.  
  
"Nope. Kurt did." Amanda answered, as her boyfriend walked over to the other boys by Jean's car.  
  
"Come again?" Chloe asked, confused.  
  
"You heard me. Kurt made me change." Amanda replied.  
  
Kitty merely laughed. "Yep, that's Kurt for you. He's like a total gentleman 24/7.even when you really don't want him to be."  
  
Amanda nodded and Chloe just smiled at her friend's statement which was in fact true.  
  
She couldn't remember a time that Kurt hadn't volunteered to help one of the girls with a chore or an errand when he had free time. He was like that all the time and she was just now noticing it.  
  
"Crawla ya gotta loosin up homme. She's yo' femme, an' if de fille wanna get dressed nice fo' ya den damn, don' make her hide it." Remy told Kurt.  
  
"Oh yeah and your one to talk. This coming from the man who just attacked his little sister with an over-shirt." Bobby pointed out.  
  
"Dat be different. Chloe's m' sista. An' she be younga den Kurt's femme."  
  
"Yeah Ice man. I mean how do you think Kurt would feel if Rogue walked out here in something like that?" Scott put in.  
  
"Now dat Remy wouldn' mind" He told the group. While everyone else laughed, Kurt, who was not as amused, frowned at the Cajun's statement.  
  
"Das is mine Swezter!" Kurt said, nudging the Cajun boy in the rib.  
  
"Hey Speaking of Rogue.anybody seen her?" Jean asked the crowd.  
  
Everyone shook their heads in a no, thinking that she wasn't even coming on the trip.  
  
"Is she even coming? I mean Rogue told us that she wasn't into this kind of stuff." Amara stated.  
  
"Yeah Ah know. But it looks like Ah'm comin anyways." Rogue said, stepping off the last stair and onto the driveway.  
  
Remy's eyes widened and his mouth actually dropped open a bit. If it weren't for her powers he'd probably have been tempted to run over and pick her up in his arms and not let go for hours.  
  
Like always, she'd managed to make herself look hotter then ever to the boy and he had a feeling she knew it too.  
  
Rogue was dressed without any of her makeup on and she was sporting a two piece with a cover that was see-through but covered her body like an oversized T-shirt. It stopped a few inches past her knees and the suit could be seen, hugging her curves.  
  
"Mon Dui!" Remy said, taking in her features.  
  
"Ach! Rogue, vat are you vearing?" Kurt asked, totally astounded at his sister's suit.  
  
"A swim suit Kurt. Aintcha eva seen one befo'?" Rogue asked sarcastically. She knew they would all give her a hard time about her suit.  
  
"He means why have you decided to um.let yourself go clothe-less a little bit more then usual." Scott said, trying to look at Rogue's face and not the rest of her.  
  
"Oh come on Scott. If Rogue wants to wear a suit like the rest of us then don't give her a hard time about it." Jean scolded.  
  
"I know, I just meant.that its unusual for her as a look." He explained. "In a good way." He added hastily.  
  
"Dis Cajun be likin de new look as well chere." Remy said, closing his mouth and walking over to her.  
  
"Yeah well, don't go gettin any ideas Cajun. Ah'm only wearin this cause mah one piece is too small." She assured him.  
  
"Well like of course it is. You've only had it for like what, two years or something? You've grown out of it. Your lucky Chloe and I decided to like get you another one while we were at the mall." Kitty piped in.  
  
"Yeah, Thanks a heap Kitty." Rogue said sarcastically, looking down at her showy apparel and groaning. This was so not how she'd planned on spending her day.  
  
"Now how is this fair? You just gave me a hard time about my outfit when Rogue's swimsuit shows way more skin then mine." Chloe asked.  
  
"Yeah, the only difference is the colors and the fact that Rogue's suit is covered up, and its entirely like see-through so it doesn't make a difference." Kitty added, not wanting to be alone in wearing an outfit like the one she had on. At least with Chloe she had someone wearing an outfit almost identical, with a few subtle differences.  
  
"Dat be different." He said.  
  
"How so?" His sister asked, clearly annoyed.  
  
"Cause it be okay fo' her ta look hot in a swimsuit. Not you." He said simply, walking away, but not before winking at Rogue who had to blush.  
  
"Come on everybody. If we want to get to the beach by noon we're going to have to hit the road now." Jean said.  
  
Everyone shuffled into the two cars. Everyone except Remy, Rogue and Kitty that is.  
  
"Dere be a change in plans." Remy said, taking out his Keys to the car.  
  
"Change?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Oui. Dere aint enough room fo' two o' us t' fit in de car." He said.  
  
"Well then why don't you like have Rogue sit on your lap?" Kitty suggested with a grin. Rogue elbowed her friend hard in the ribs. "Ow!"  
  
"How bout we not?" Rogue said, dismissing the idea from the Cajun's mind.  
  
"Look if it's a problem then Ah'll just stay home an' Kitty can squeeze in with tha othas. Lord knows she's thin enough." The Goth said.  
  
Kitty frowned a bit, deciding on weather it was a good statement or an insulting one. She decided against the ladder.  
  
"Oh no y' don' petite. Y' not getting outta our agreement dat easily." He said, lifting her pool bag up and out of her reach so she couldn't take it inside.  
  
"Agreement?" Kitty asked, confused.  
  
"Forget it Kitty." Rogue told her.  
  
"So how do ya plan on gettin all of us ta tha beach then Cajun?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Simple mon chere. Remy gon' give de keys ta de X-van ta de Kitty-kat an' we get ta ride Remy's bike." He said simply.  
  
"WHAT!?" All the recruits in the back of the van asked in unison.  
  
Kitty wasn't exactly the safest person to be in a car with when she was driving. Actually she was the farthest from it. Even Wolverine didn't dare filling the passengers chair when Kitty was in the drivers seat.  
  
"Gambit are you like serious?" Kitty asked, astounded.  
  
"Does dis look like de face of a kidder petite?" He asked suavely.  
  
"Naw, it looks like tha face of a Joker, a Playa, a Conceeded creep, a." Rogue would have gone on but was tuned out by Remy when Kitty let out a giddy squeal like a teenage girl, which she happened to be, and attacked Remy with a hug that was cutting off his circulation.  
  
Rogue smirked a bit at the Cajun's shocked reaction as he tried to pry the overexcited valley girl off of him but felt the sudden sensation of jealousy for some reason.  
  
Remy, being an Emapath, picked up on it immediately and called her on it. "Jealous Chere?" He asked cockily.  
  
"Yeah, you wish Cajun." She said.  
  
"Wait a minute. Ah aint getting on a bike with-" She was cut off again by Kitty letting go of Remy and saying "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She grabbed the keys and headed for the car.  
  
A second later she was gone and the car was no where to be seen. "Damn you, ya sneaky Cajun!" Rogue scowled at Remy who was now laughing.  
  
His plan had worked. He'd gotten to ride all alone the entire way to the beach with Rogue in a vehicle that required her to cling onto him like a life preserver. Things couldn't get better.  
  
He looked up to see Rogue's retreating figure walking back to the mansion. 'Or maybe not.' He thought.  
  
"Chere, de beach is dis way." He said, pointing away from the mansion. She was not going to get out of going on this trip.  
  
"Ah know that ya moron. Ah'm gettin' a pair of jeans if that's okay with you. Or would ya rather meh go ridin with ya in a bathin suit?" She asked sarcastically and walked away.  
  
He opened his mouth to reply but was silenced by her saying "Don't answer that." And continued on her way.  
  
She was outside with Remy a few minutes later, wearing a pair of faded, tight fitting jeans over her bikini. Remy raised his eyebrows suggestively at her and she replied by pushing him out of the way.  
  
Remy bowed a little and let her pass him to get to his bike. "After you mon chere"  
  
She sighed in agrivation and gave up. 'Well at least things can't get any worse.' She thought to herself as she scowled at him and walked toward the bike.  
  
He saddled onto his bike and she parked herself on it behind him, sitting as far from his body as possible.  
  
He laughed and turned on the engine. "Yo' gonna fall off. You can get a lil' closa petite. Remy don' bite." He assured her.  
  
"Thanks but Ah think Ah'll take mah chances back here." She told him.  
  
"Suit yo'self petite." He said, pushing a few buttons and zooming off away from the institute.  
  
She was feeling uneasy about falling off and he could feel it so he moved the speed up a notch and she nearly fell off, but reluctantly held onto his waist. She cursed her luck when she ended up having to lock her arms around his waist.  
  
He on the other hand was loving every bit of it. His grin was spread all the way across his face.  
  
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"Hm. I wonder how Rogue and Remy are holding up." Chloe said, sitting in the drivers seat of the X-van. "Stop sign!" She yelled to Kitty, who came to an abrupt stop.  
  
When the car jerked she caused Bobby, Amara and Jubilee to bump into each other. They'd decided to have Jamie sit in the way back by himself sense it was Kitty who was driving and they couldn't afford to have anymore of him.  
  
Sam, Rahne, and the others were all in the middle, crouched together. "I feel like a sardine in a tin can." Rahn informed her friends.  
  
"Tell me about it." Bobby agreed.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Jamie wined.  
  
"NO!" The rest of them said, very annoyed.  
  
"We weren't there yet five minutes ago and we aren't there yet now." Jubilee told him. She then returned to the drumming of her headphones, tuning out the rest of the group's chatting.  
  
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Scott put his arm around Jean who was busy, concentrating on driving. He caught sight of Kurt and Amanda, flirting insanely.  
  
He elbowed Jean, and she caught sight of the two teens as well. She sighed in admiration. "If only everybody else in this town were so open-minded like Amanda." Scott said. Jean nodded in agreement.  
  
"Well that just proves Magneto's theory wrong. Humans aren't all the same." Jean told him. He too nodded in agreement. 'Maybe there's hope for our future together after all.' She thought.  
  
"Kurt!" Amanda let out, hitting him playfully. He was obviously doing something amusing for his girlfriend to entertain her for the boring ride to the beach.  
  
"I vunder how everyone else is doing." He thought aloud. "I really don't like it.ze vay Gambit looks at mine swezter. He's nice and all but I don't trust him vit her. He's too old." Kurt said, over protectively. "Woah man, You taking a lesson in big brothering 101 or something?" Evan asked. The rest of the people in the car laughed.  
  
"Look Kurt, don't worry about it. Rogue's a big girl and she can take care of herself." Jean assured him.  
  
"Yeah besides, its not like they're alone or anything. They've got Kitty and the new recruits with them." Scott put in.  
  
(Chloe is technically a new recruit. Gambit isnt because one, he's not technically an X-man, just there to help train and stuff. He's ranking like Scott only a bit higher cause he was a trained Acolyte and Two because He's so cool he skips the new recruits. : P)  
  
"Ja, I guess your right." Kurt said, putting an arm around Amanda.  
  
"Scott spit out the root beer he was sipping, earning a glare from Jean. "Scott! This car is new you know!" Jean nagged.  
  
Scott was too busy choking to reply.  
  
"Kurt.*cough* don't turn around." Scott said, catching his breath.  
  
'Scott what's going on with you?' Jean asked telepathically.  
  
'See for yourself. Look in your rear view mirror.' He answered the same way. There really are some perks of having a girlfriend that was a telepath.  
  
Jean turned her head a little and did as he told her to. She gasped when she saw what her boyfriend was talking about.  
  
"Oh my god!" She said aloud, then blushed when she realized she hadn't used telepathy.  
  
Scott smacked his forehead. "Smooth Jean, real smooth."  
  
"Vas are you two talking about?" Kurt asked.  
  
Amanda and Evan were staring at the couple as well. To the three mutants in the back that weren't let in on the telepathic conversation, it appeared that their team leaders had gone nuts.  
  
"Nothing!" The two in the front said in unison.  
  
"Yeah right." Evan said, letting them know the other three were not convinced.  
  
"Hey isnt that our exit?" Amanda asked curiously, feeling a little out of place with the group.  
  
She was Kurt's girl friend but she wasn't really friends with any of the others. But that was what this trip was for partially. Kurt wanted his friends and his girlfriend to get to know each other. Amanda was all for it, thought she was a bit nervous about making a good impression.  
  
"Jean she's right, turn." Scott said. She made a sharp turn and started speeding up.  
  
"Woah Jean girl cool it. What's with the speed limit braker?" Evan inquired.  
  
"Speeding? I'm not speeding. I'm just um.picking up the pace a little." She answered.  
  
"Yeah, known to some cultures as speeding." He shot back.  
  
A loud motorcycle's engine suddenly droned out all other sounds.  
  
Evan gave a long, low whistle. "Whoa! Now that's what I call a bike. Its got looks, and a back for the girls." Evan said, getting a look at the source of the noise.  
  
"Hey the chick on that bike has one of the girl's worn jeans. I've seen one of em wearin jeans just like those around the mansion." He continued.  
  
Jean sped up even more and Scott kept giving Evan looks that said 'Shut up you moron' or something to that effect.  
  
"Evan it is not polite to stare." Kurt said, not bothering to look at the couple on the bike.  
  
Amanda blushed and turned away from the window, a little ashamed that she'd been nosy like her boyfriend had called Evan on for.  
  
She paused a minute and whipped her head back at the window. Her mouth dropped open when she saw who the people were. Had Evan not noticed? Jean and Scott certainly did.  
  
Jean saw the look on Amanda's face and knew that she'd found out.  
  
'Amanda its Jean. Don't answer aloud.'  
  
'Um. hi. Jean is that who I think it is?' Amanda asked, a little freaked out because she'd never actually telepathically talked to anyone before. It was weird.  
  
'Yeah, what ever you do, do NOT let Kurt see them.' Jean told her.  
  
'Uh.how do I do that?'  
  
'I don't know. You're his girlfriend. Say something, or do something. Just don't let him see the window. He'll freak out and teleport and we don't need anymore news reports this week.' Jean explained.  
  
Amanda nodded silently which Jean saw through the mirror.  
  
"Whoa! Somebody else in the world has bangs that are.oh man it cant be. It cant be. But it is." Evan said, he was totally shocked when he realized who the girl was.  
  
"Alright that's it. You've got mine attention. Vat is so special about zis bike?" Kurt asked, a little annoyed.  
  
Everyone in the car went wide eyed. Kurt was in the middle of Evan and Amanda and the bike was on Amanda's side.  
  
'Somebody do something now!' Jean yelled telepathically.  
  
There just happeneed to be cars all around them and they didn't need Kurt teleporting on the news.  
  
Amanda looked around and racked her brain for some way to distract Kurt. She didn't want her boyfriend ending up in a place like Area 51.  
  
"Kurt!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Yes Aman-" He was cut off when she kissed him straight on the lips.  
  
Everybody stared at them.  
  
"That'll do." Jean said aloud.  
  
The bike went passed them by the time the kiss ended and Jean slowed down the car, letting out a deep breath she didn't even know she was holding in.  
  
"Amanda!" Kurt exclaimed in shock, gasping for much needed air.  
  
"Are you feeling alright?" He asked her, very concerned at her change in behavior.  
  
This was not like his girlfriend at all. Not that he didn't enjoy it. He did. He really, really did. But something wasn't right.  
  
"I'm fine Kurt." She replied with a smile and a face that was clearly blushing. "Just fine."  
  
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"Aw Shit!" Rogue exclaimed.  
  
"What is it chere?" Remy asked, turning his head a bit.  
  
"That SUV back there. Did it look familiar?" Rogue asked.  
  
Remy thought for a minute. "Oui, dat be Jeanie's car non?"  
  
"Oui., that's what." She answered, taking on his French a little.  
  
"Oh so what wrong wit dat? You fraid dey see ya havin a good time wit dis ol' Cajun?" He asked slyly.  
  
"No! Its just that mah friends at tha institute are always givin meh a hard time about getting close ta people roun' here and them they see me with ya like this then I'll neva here the end of it."  
  
Dat don't sound bad. He smiled at her.  
  
"Not to mention the fact that Kurt's in the car and he'd probably have the entire male body of the X-men after ya cause he tends ta go a little. a lot ballistic when his big brotha mode kicks in." She added.  
  
"Okay dat sound bad" He answered, changing his mind of opinion on the situation.  
  
She smirked and he turned back around, keeping his eyes on the road.  
  
"Uh.Remy." She called over the motor, tapping him on the shoulder with her free arm before latching it back onto his waist.  
  
"Oui chere?"  
  
"Ya'll wouldn't happen ta know what yer Teammates.X-teammates Ah mean, ya wouldn't happen ta know what kinda transportation they have would ya?" She inquired.  
  
"Oui, John aint got any ting but Creed an' Peter bot' (both) got bikes like Remy. Why ya ask?" He answered, wondering where the random question had come from.  
  
"Aw crap. Look in tha lane beside us and please tell me that aint who Ah think it is." She said in an aggravated and tired voice.  
  
Remy hesitantly did as he was told and groaned.  
  
"Damn it you two. Can't Remy get a day wit out ya messin up his dates?" He asked the two people riding the motorcycle next to them. Colossus sat in the front of a very large bike and John sat behind him.  
  
"Fer tha fifth time Cajun, Ah aint ya girl and this aint a date." Rogue stated firmly. She didn't want people getting the wrong idea just because the Cajun liked to blab stuff. Even if the people were the enemy.  
  
"Though thah two of them look like they make a cute couple dontcha think Remy?" She asked, hugging him unconsciously.  
  
Though she didn't notice what she was doing , he did, and wasn't about to call her on it because if she knew she'd probably stop.  
  
Remy smirked at her remark and at the look on the two mutant's faces.  
  
John immediately let go of Peter and almost fell off the bike, which Rogue and Remy laughed at.  
  
"Hey mate, looks like your newest Sheila's a feisty one aye?" Pyro asked, trying to get on their nerves. It was just a coincidence that they'd come in contact with the other two mutants but why waste a perfect opportunity to ruin two of the X-men's fun and make some of their own.  
  
He lit his lighter and a little fire Rogue and fire Remy were making out like crazy.  
  
Remy actually laughed in spite of himself. Rogue was not pleased at all. She leaned over and tried to reach the pyromaniac but Colossus pulled to the right.  
  
"Well would you look at that Cajun, looks like your Sheila wants ta touch me, not you. Maybe your loosing your touch aye mate?"  
  
John didn't particularly enjoy getting on Remy's nerves or anything. In fact it was far from it. Remy was John's friend, but Magneto was beginning to suspect their friendship and even though Remy was in a safe house, John was still an easy target for metal objects while under his boss's command.  
  
The Aussie would just throw a few shots at Remy and the girl, make it seem like he actually hated the Cajun's guts, putting on a good show for Peter so he wouldn't get suspicious himself.  
  
Hopefully Remy would know the difference between John's acting and real life.  
  
"What d'ya wan' John?" Remy asked, sensing the uneasiness and guilt that the Aussie was feeling when he was egging on the X-men and knew that it was all just a charade.  
  
"Hey, if you remember mate, Magneto gives us a day off once in a while. We're just making the best of it by goin out, maybe picking up some sheilas. Right Petey?" John asked his helmeted friend.  
  
Colossus was silent but nodded his head just a tad. He'd been keeping an eye on the road, and Remy the entire time and didn't want to add on to the conversation.  
  
"You picking girls up? So ya'll are goin ta tha senior citizens home? That's tha only place Ah could think of with girls that'd willingly go out with you." Rogue shot back.  
  
Remy grinned. Rogue always had the best comebacks and could shoot them at you on the spur of the moment. One of the many things he loved about her.  
  
"What ever Sheila. Be seeing ya mate." John said, raising his hand from his head into the air like a salute.  
  
"Not if Remy has any ting ta do about it Mate." He replied and sped passed the Acolytes and toward the beach.  
  
"You think they were followin' us?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Non, Remy tink dey jus' be out ta have a good time today. Tomorrow dey probably be followin' us. Now lets get t' the beach. It be only five mo' miles." He assured her, smiling. She smiled back and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
She didn't realize she was doing that either but there was something about riding with him that made her totally unaware of the things she was doing with getting close to him, and even though she wouldn't admit it, she probably wouldn't mind if she did.  
  
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"So do you think Gambit and his Sheila were followin' us?" John asked his friend.  
  
"Its very doubtful. Gambit is sneakier and slyer then that. He wouldn't let us know if he were following us. He's probably just out enjoying the nice weather like us. Now stop squirming would you? It's only five more miles until we get to the beach." Colossus said to his hyperactive teammate.  
  
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Ohhh! Incase you guys didn't guess, the Acolytes and the X-men are going to the same beach! Uh-oh! Plenty of situations for not seen everyday stuff.at the beach. ~Read and review plz! Thanx~  
  
Ideas for what's gonna maybe happen at the beach I'm not updating until I have at least five or six more reviews okay?  
  
(New x-evo episodes on the Wb! YAY!) 


	16. My Knight in Shining Armor

Hey peeps! Hope you like this new chapter I've been working on. A whole lot of love in the air in this chapter.  
  
On to the reviews.  
  
Review Replies  
  
Original- I like the over protective Kurt too. Come to think of it.I like just about all Kurts. :P I figured that maybe Kurt might find out next chapter or something.  
  
Solitaire - Saint John also = Fire so most people in their world can wait.and want to for their own safety for that matter.  
  
Rogue Warrior Spirit- Hey I updated as soon as I could. Hope it was worth it.  
  
And now our feature presentation.  
  
CHAPTER 16  
  
My Knight in Shining Armor  
  
Ahhh! Bobby you are like so dead!" Kitty shouted, running after Bobby down the beach with Chloe, Amara and Jubilee right behind her.  
  
They had been tanning on the beach when he decided to kick some sand in their direction to get them up.  
  
"You little snow making menace." Amara shouted.  
  
"Well atleast ya got tha girls up and runnin." Sam called over the screaming girls.  
  
"Shut up and help!" Bobby called back.  
  
"Oh sorry, no can do." Sam answered back.  
  
Jubilee cought up with Bobby and tackled him to the ground.  
  
Bobby smiled. "And what exactly are you going to do now that you've got me?" He asked, turning her over so that she was on the bottom and he was on the top.  
  
"Get off of me Drake!" She ordered, as sparks began to fly. Literally, Bobby had to dodge the mini fireworks.  
  
"If that's what you want." Bobby said.  
  
"Yes that's what I want. Now get off of me!" She demanded.  
  
He rolled off of her, picked her up and carried her into the cold water.  
  
She screamed and kicked out into the air in protest.  
  
Jean rolled her eyes. "Its nice that they can still have fun with all the anti-mutant activity going on." She commented.  
  
Scott nodded in agreement, looking over at Kurt and Amanda who were splashing each other with saltwater.  
  
"Yeah, and they all have a different way of doing it." He commented, referring to Rogue sitting in the shade of a tree, reading a novel, with Remy hovering over her, trying to get her to put down the book and come have fun with him.  
  
This time Jean was the one who nodded in agreement.  
  
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Rogue was dressed in short jean shorts and a bathing suit cover that the Professor had designed especially for her. It covered to the point of her ankles and was almost invisible. It was pretty much like her normal clothes so she could swim around and not worry about bumping into people as much as she would without the cover.  
  
The only thing was, Rogue had no intentions what so ever of going any where near the water. She was perfectly content, reading her novel in the shade of a blooming tree.  
  
"Oh come on chere. Jus' one lil swim. What could it hurt?" Remy asked, taking the book from her and closing it.  
  
"Hey, give that back Cajun!" She demanded.  
  
He lifted it to wear she couldn't reach. She jumped up in hopes of reaching it but failed.  
  
"Ah really don't like you." She told him with a scowl on her face.  
  
He laughed and dropped the book on the toewel she was sitting on before and picked her up.  
  
"What the hell do ya think ya'll are doin?" She asked, outraged.  
  
"Remy tinks he be taken his chere inta de water." He answered, doing just as he said he would.  
  
He waded into the ocean, which she was furious with him for.  
  
"Put meh down Swamp Rat!" She ordered.  
  
"Oh, but Remy don' wanna." He mock sulked.  
  
"Too bad. Ah aint playin around Remy. Now put me down!"  
  
He sighed like he was caving in. "Okay chere. If dat be what ya wan'." He said, and dropped her into the ocean.  
  
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"Oooh! Remy is so gonna pay for that move man." Evan said as Rogue was dropped into the water.  
  
Sam shook his head in agreement. "Though if anything like the punishment Bobby's getting then I don't think he'll mind much." Sam said, pointing to Bobby, who was being tackled in the water bye Jubilee.  
  
She jumped on him and dunked him under water but he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her down with him.  
  
"Yeah, well somehow I doubt Rogue had that kind of punishment in mind. Evan told the southern boy who shuttered at the fate of the Cajun boy.  
  
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"Here looks like a good place to set up our stuff. Plenty of Sheilas in sight." John said, motioning for Peter to drop their stuff in the sand.  
  
Pyro let out a low whistle. Would you look at that!" Pyro told his comrade, referring to the swarm of girls on the beach.  
  
"Man I wish Gambit were here. Sheila scooping just aint the same without that bloody Cajun." John said, sitting down on a towel and gawking at the girls.  
  
"You miss him don't you?" Peter mused.  
  
John merely flicked his lighter open and shut repeatedly.  
  
"Understandable. We all got close to each other when we started working for Magneto. Its only natural that you feel a loss when he's missing in events that we used to do together." Colossus explained.  
  
John was now gawking at his friend. He hadn't said that much together in.ever.  
  
"Whoa! Where'd that come from mate? Are you now my shrink?' John asked sarcastically.  
  
Colossus didn't answer. He was too busy staring in front of him like a deer in headlights to hear a word Pyro was saying.  
  
"Mate? Yoo-hoo? Peter? Anyone home in there?" John asked, waving his hands in front of the other boy's face and knocking on his scull.  
  
"Its her!" Peter said, not moving his eyes.  
  
"Her? Her who? Whose her?" Pyro asked.  
  
"She is so radiant. Can you not feel the loving, positive energy all around her?" Colossus asked his friend.  
  
The Russian looked like a love sick puppy. If it were a cartoon he'd have hearts in his eyes and his own heart beating out of his chest unnaturally.  
  
John followed his friend's eyes to a pair of teenage girls, walking on the beach.  
  
"Oh ho ho, Pete's found himself a Sheila has he? Its about time." John said, catching on.  
  
"Boy I wish Remy were here. He'd just love to see you like this." John added.  
  
"I think your wish just came true my friend." Peter said, snapping out of his trance.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" John asked, confused.  
  
Peter pointed over into the water where they both saw Remy, getting splashed by the white and auburn haired girl they saw on his bike a while back.  
  
"Well how about that! What are the odds?" John asked.  
  
"We should stay here and stay away from them." Peter suggested.  
  
"Stay away? But why? We haven't seen Rem in a long time. Can't we just stop by and-"  
  
"No! It is too dangerous. We do not want to cause a seen around all these people. We cannot go near any of them." Colossus sighed and turned to look at the girl he'd seen before. "Even her." He said, pointing to his dream girl.  
  
John looked the brunette up and down a few times. "She's one of the X- men?" John asked.  
  
Colossus stared at the girl and nodded.  
  
"Well I'll be! No wonder Remy joined up with them. They've got all the hotties." John said jokingly.  
  
"But your still into her aren't you?" John asked his friend.  
  
Peter nodded a yes.  
  
"And this isn't the first time you've seen her and felt this way with her before is it?" John asked, though he already knew the answer.  
  
Peter again, nodded silently.  
  
John sighed again. "And we're both giong to be miserable now because your missing out on a Shiela your crazy over and I miss our teammate aren't we?"  
  
Peter again nodded and sat down on his own towel.  
  
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"Kitty that guy is totally checking you out!" Chloe said, making sure her friend didn't turn around and let the boy know they knew he was watching them.  
  
"No way! Seriously?" Kitty asked, giggling a bit.  
  
She felt bubbly at the thought of a guy looking at her, which was strange because although she was oblivious to it, guys checked her out on a daily basis.  
  
"Way Seriously! Oh but don't turn around. Just act cool like you didn't see him." Chloe told her.  
  
"Well that should be easy seeing how I haven't like even seen him yet." Kitty told Chloe.  
  
"Don't worry, he's a total hottie. Only I cant really get a good look at his friend and him. Their too shaded under that tree over there. I got a good look at him once though. He looks familiar somehow." Chloe said, trailing off.  
  
"Anyways, come on. There's a cove full of underwater life and sea shells over there with our names on it." Chloe said, tugging her friend and their snorkeling gear along the beach.  
  
"Oh but what if there are like snapping turtles or biting fish or something?" Kitty asked, a little worried that they were going off alone.  
  
"Don't worry. I've seen Remy and the other guys in the guild do this kind of stuff all the time. There's nothing to it. Plus you don't have to worry about snapping turtles or biting fish." She explained.  
  
"I don't? Oh good." Kitty sighed in relief.  
  
"Yeah. If you were going to worry about anything it would be the water snakes, which are really poisonous. Let's hope we don't run into them. Now come on." Chloe said.  
  
"Water snakes?" Kitty echoed. Her eyes widened and Chloe yanked her over toward the cove. "Oh what have I like gotten myself into?" Kitty asked herself.  
  
"I bet Rogue's having a good time being nice and safe and snake-free on the sand right now." She said to herself, seeing how Chloe wasn't really listening.  
  
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"Hey where are you two headed?" Jean asked Remy, who was pulling Rogue down the beach.  
  
"Remy be treatin de fille to an ice cream." Remy explained.  
  
"Jean laughed. Alright. Have fun you two." She called out.  
  
"Hey Jean where are Kitty and Chloe?" Scott inquired.  
  
"Um.I think they went over to that cove over there." Amara said, popping out of the water, splashing Jean and Scott in the process.  
  
"The cove?" Scott asked.  
  
"Yeah, but it was about an hour ago. I figured they'd be back by now." Amara added.  
  
Scott and Jean exchanged worried glances.  
  
"Come on. We'd better go down there just to make sure." Scott said, wading out of the water, followed by Jean and Amara.  
  
"What about Remy and Rogue?" Amara asked, running along the other two.  
  
"We'll get them afterwards. Now come on!" Jean told her.  
  
When they got to the cove they found no one.  
  
"Kitty? Chloe?" Jean and Amara called out.  
  
No one answered.  
  
"Shadowcat?" Scott called out.  
  
Still no answer.  
  
"Scott I don't like this. Where could they be?"  
  
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John I'm going to take a walk. I'll be back later." The Russian informed his friend.  
  
"Leavin? When I've just only gotten the Sheilas right where I want em?" John asked with two girls on his lap.  
  
"I don't see the pleasure in not having just one girl." Colossus said, sighing and walking away.  
  
Hey suit yourself mate. More Sheila's for me." Pyro said with a huge grin on his face as he waved goodbye to his comrade.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Kitty look over there, through the trees." Chloe said.  
  
The other girl did so and her eyes widened.  
  
"Oh wow! It's a waterfall. It's so like beautiful." Kitty commented.  
  
The waterfall was inserted in a cliff and landed in a lake.  
  
"Come on. Last one to the top of the lake is a rotten egg." Chloe announced, running past Kitty and starting to climb the giant rock formation.  
  
"Hey no fair! You got a head start!" Kitty complained, running right into the cliff and phasing through it.  
  
"Haha! I am so gonna beat you!" Chloe said. She ran and was almost to the edge of the cliff when Kitty phased up onto the surface of the rock, looking at her friend and smiling.  
  
"I love my powers." Kitty said, grinning at the scowl at her friend's shocked face.  
  
"Okay so you go down the slide first." Chloe said, motioning to the waterfall.  
  
"Slide? What are you nuts? That's a waterfall. As in water that falls. You fall with it. Get it?" Kitty asked, taking a step back from the edge.  
  
"Yeah I get it.but what were you going to do when you got up here if you weren't going to jump?" Chloe asked.  
  
"I don't know. Just like. Phase back down. There is so like no way I'm jumping this far up into that lake." Kitty said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"Oh come on. Its not that bad." Chloe said, trying to get her overly cautious friend to jump.  
  
"Unless." She began, grinning evilly.  
  
"Unless?" Kitty asked. "Unless your too scared to do it. I mean I figured after all Logan's sessions and fighting and simulations that you'd be less afraid of things like this, but I guess if you are scared then." Chloe trailed off, waiting for her friend to reply.  
  
Kitty was now the one scowling. Oh you are so like way off. I'm not scared. I'll even prove it." Kitty said, marching toward the edge.  
  
Chloe smirked at how well her plan had worked.  
  
Kitty looked back at Chloe, unsure about what she was about to do.  
  
"Go on! It'll be fun!" Chloe assured her.  
  
The other girl sighed, looked over the cliff at her destination and held her breath.  
  
As she took her final step towards the edge and was about to spring forward she slipped on some algae that was covering an area on the rock and fell, landing on her head.  
  
She then slipped and fell into the water, landing like a sack of potatoes and sinking to the bottom, under the waterfall.  
  
"Kitty!" Chloe shouted. "Kitty are you okay?" She peered over the cliff and scanned the lake for her friend but she couldn't see her.  
  
Then she got a quick glimpse of an arm being pushed down into the dark waters by the weight of the water crashing down onto the girl.  
  
"Why isn't she phasing through the water?" Chloe asked herself aloud. "Oh man! Kitty come on! Please answer me!" She raced down to the water and swam underneath, trying to find the other girl but the waterfall was pushing her back and she couldn't get close enough to do anything.  
  
"Hang on Kity. I'm gonna go get help. Just hang on!" She pleaded to Kitty, who probably couldn't hear her anyway.  
  
Chloe got out of the water and ran as fast as she could toward the public beach screaming for help the entire time.  
  
She was too far away though, and no one could hear her. She was way past the cove and nowhere near any civilization because they'd walked a ways through the woods to get to the clearing.  
  
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"So Roguey, ya gotta admit dis aint such a bad time we be havin." He asked as she tossed her sticky snow cone wrapper in the trash can.  
  
"Yeah Ah guess. Hey where'd Jean an' Scott go?" She asked, looking around and seeing that they weren't in the water , nor were they on the beach.  
  
"They went looking for Kitty and Chloe." Tabby said.  
  
Rogue and Remy turned around and both their eyes widened at what they saw.  
  
Evan sound asleep and buried in sand up to his neck. The girls were all sitting around him, shaping the sand and making shapes and forms and he now resembled a mermaid.  
  
His feet were covered with sand that was shaped to look like a fin or a tail and his chest had two seashells on it that looked suspiciously like the bikini top that the Little Mermaid wore.  
  
"We got bored." Tabby said simply, answering the questions that the other two obviously had.  
  
"I'm not even going to ask." Bobby said, walking over to them with Jubilee.  
  
"Hey, check out the love birds. Finally come back to hang with the rest of us?" Tabby asked Bobby and Jubilee.  
  
Bobby scowled at her for a second but Jubilee just went straight to blushing.  
  
"God its not like we're going out or anything. We were just playing around in the water." Jubilee assured the rest of them, her blush fading from her cheeks.  
  
Remy just laughed. They were so young, yet so obviously wanting each other.  
  
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"Help! Somebody please! My friend. She's hurt and I-" Chloe was cut off when she turned around to see if anyone was behind her and wasn't looking behind her and she wasn't looking where she was going so she rammed into something hard.  
  
She fell back and hit the sand but brushed herself off and looked at what she had bumped into.  
  
There stood one of Magneto's goons, Colossus. He stared at her curiously, not saying anything for about a minute.  
  
After Chloe caught her breath she panted for a second and looked him straight in the eyes.  
  
"Okay look, I know you're the enemy and I know your supposed to be attacking us and against the X-men and everything but my friend is hurt and I cant help her myself and if I go get someone at the beach it might be too late and it was all my fault because Kitty didn't even wanna jump but I told her it would be okay but now its not okay and I really really need your help and-"  
  
Chloe stopped her speedy jabbering from her worried and frantic feelings when Colossus put his hand over her mouth. "Alright. Now calm down and tell me again. Slower." He said, releasing her.  
  
"My friend Kitty. She fell and she's hurt and I can't get to her. Please, you have to help me. If you don't she could.she could." Chloe didn't want to say what she was thinking and luckily she didn't have to.  
  
Collosus had already morphed into his metal form and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on. Show me where she is." He told her, dragging her back into the thicker part of the woods.  
  
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"Gambit have you seen your sister anywhere?" Scott asked, running up to the group of teenagers with Jean and Amara at his heals.  
  
"No.why? Is something wrong?" Gambit asked, a little worried at the tone in Scott's voice and the worried feeling the girls had when his empathy tapped in.  
  
"Nothings wrong. We just haven't seen them in a while and we're getting kind of worried.  
  
"Why not have Jean use her powers ta find out where they are?" Rogue suggested.  
  
"Duh! Why didn't we think of that?" Amara asked.  
  
They were obviously too caught up in being worried about their friends to think about the easiest, yet most efficient way of finding them.  
  
Jean put her hands to her temples and shut her eyes tightly. She searched telepathically for the girls all around the beach. Then she found one of them. It was Chloe, and she was being pulled somewhere by.  
  
"Colossus!" Jean exclaimed, opening her eyes to face the rest of the group.  
  
"What about him?" Scott asked, puzzled at his girlfriend's random name calling.  
  
"He's here.with Chloe." Jean explained.  
  
A loud crunch was heard over near Gambit and Rogue. Rogue looked down at his hands and saw that he'd just crushed a full soda can with his right hand and was now tightening it into a fist.  
  
"He what?" Remy asked, quietly and slowly, yet dangerously sounding like he was ready to kill with no mercy.  
  
"He was dragging her somewhere by the arm. I don't know where. It was off.over there! In the woods." Jean said, getting a mental picture and putting the scenery together.  
  
Remy didn't wait for anything else. He just walked over to his blanket, grabbed a pack of cards and walked in the general direction that Jean had pointed.  
  
Everyone stood there waiting for a command, except Evan who was now brushing sand off himself.  
  
"Alright. New recruits, you go with Evan and search that half of the woods." Scott ordered, pointing to one side of the wooded area.  
  
"Amara, come with Jean, Rogue, and I to that half of the woods and." Scott trailed off, looking all around him.  
  
"Where's Rogue?" He asked, though he already had a feeling he knew where she was.  
  
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"It's this way." Chloe said, pointing to the trail that she'd made by knocking down various plants in her haste to find help.  
  
It didn't take long for them to reach their destination, now all they had to do was find Kitty, save her, and make it back to the beach before Scott goes Mr. Military on them for wandering off.  
  
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"Remy wait!" Rogue called after him, trying to catch up.  
  
He didn't reply. He just kept walking through the wildlife, aimlessly wondering around in his blind rage, hoping to get lucky and somehow come across wherever it was that Colossus had taken his sister.  
  
"Remy stop!" She called again. He still ignored her.  
  
"Fine don't stop. Just tell meh then, what are ya gonna do once ya find him?" She asked.  
  
He said nothing.  
  
"Kill him?" She inquired. Though he hadn't said anything she knew the thought was running through his mind and it wasn't a debatable thought.  
  
"That aint you Remy. That aint the kind a thing ya'll would let yerrself do anymore." She yelled to him, trying to get him to stop and think for a minute before he did something stupid that he would most likely regret.  
  
"Ah have to. Ah'm not lettin anyting happen to her." He answered finally, still walking at the same pace he was going before.  
  
Rogue stopped for a minute. 'Whoa this must be serious. He's using first person.' She thought to herself.  
  
"Remy we have ta stop and think about this. We're just wasting time if we mindlessly walk into this without a plan or a strategy or.or anything." She said.  
  
"Ah'll find her. I don' need a strategy." He answered firmly.  
  
"Ya might find her, but if ya don't slow down and be logical about this yerr gonna be findin her dead." She said harshly.  
  
Rogue was silent. She didn't mean for it to come out that way. She didn't mean to bring up the word 'dead'. She was just so furious at him for not stopping and trying to figure things out and she didn't think before she talked.  
  
Remy paused, stopping dead in his tracks. He turned around and walked over to her, meeting his red on black orbs with her emerald ones.  
  
"Ah gotta find her. She needs me." He said quietly.  
  
"Okay. Ah get that. But she needs ya alive, which is somethin you probably wont be if ya jump inta this without thinkin." She said a little softer.  
  
"But Ah.Remy's gotta find her now b'fo'.b'fo' anyting happens ta her." He said.  
  
"Ah know. So we'll find her together." She said, trying to sooth his nerves.  
  
She realized that if something like his had happened to Kurt that she'd be going head first into the situation like he was, even if she didn't show as much effection in her sibling relationship as Remy did. Family is family, and you don't ever mess with that.  
  
She'd be ticked off if anyone from the institute was threatened or put in danger because in some weird twisted way they were like her family.  
  
Remy nodded and grabbed her by the wrist, which was fortunately covered at the time. He then walked into the woods, slower, and calmer then before. So what's the plan?" He asked, not looking back at her.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Okay she's in there somewhere." Kitty said, pointing to the water.  
  
"Colossus didn't respond. He just took a deep breath and dove into the water, not coming out for at least two minutes which was worrying to Chloe who stood there dumbly in a frantic feeling.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Hey!" Rogue exclaimed as she bumped into the Cajun who had come to an ubrupt stop in the thick woods.  
  
"Why'd ya stop?" She asked, annoyed.  
  
Remy didn't say anything. She just stared ahead.  
  
Rogue looked to see what he was looking at and her eyes widened. Chloe was standing alone in a clearing, looking down into the depths of the water.  
  
"Chloe!" She yelled as Remy ran up to his sister, picked her up and spun her around a few times before putting her back on the ground.  
  
"Remy! What are you doing here?" Chloe asked curiously.  
  
"Remy be here ta rescue ya." He answered, looking her up and down to see if she was hurt.  
  
"Rescue me? Remy what are you talking about?" She asked, confused at his answer.  
  
"He's talking about you bein dragged away bah Colossus. Jean saw ya." Rogue answered, catching up to them.  
  
"Huh?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Oui, an now Remy gon' find him an' teach him a lesson fo' takin ya. Nobody messes wit Remy Le Beau's family." He said, glaring into space  
  
"ohhh! You thought that.and.no. You don't understand. You see what happened was-" Chloe was cut off by a splash in the water as Peter rose from it's depths with an unconscious Kitty in his arms.  
  
Everyone stared in shock while he waded through the water and onto the sand. He kept walking until he got to the grass where he set her down gently.  
  
He then looked her over and listened for a heart beat. There was none.  
  
He began to give her mouth to mouth recesitation and pressing on her body in hopes of releasing some of the water that had gotten into her system.  
  
After breathing for her and trying to pump out the water three more times he stopped when Kitty started to cough up the water and jerked her head up.  
  
Kitty opened her eyes wide only to be met with another pair of dark brown eyes. They gazed at eachother for a second before someone calling her name interrupted them.  
  
"Kitty!" Rogue and Kitty exclaimed with relief as they rushed over to her.  
  
"Damn Kit! What happened ta ya?" Rogue asked.  
  
"I *cough* I don't know. The last thing I remember was slipping on a rock and then. and then you." Kitty said, pointing to Peter, who was standing silently next to Gambit.  
  
All eyes fell on Peter.  
  
"Ya didn' try an take mon souer did ya?" Gambit asked, though he already knew the answer.  
  
"No my friend. I did not." Peter answered.  
  
"That's what I was trying to tell you Remy. I needed help and Peter was the only one around so when I told him that Kitty was in trouble he nearly yanked my arm out of my socket to get us to Kitty as fast as possible." Chloe explained.  
  
"Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved me. I owe you my life." Kitty said with a grateful smile.  
  
"No, no you do not. I am very relieved and happy that you are okay but you do not owe me anything." Peter said, turning and walking away.  
  
"But." Kitty shouted after him. "But I still feel like I owe you my like life. How can I thank you?" Kitty called.  
  
Peter stopped in his tracks and froze. "Your safety is thanks enough." He said without turning around and continued walking away.  
  
The others just stared at his retreating form, saying nothing.  
  
"Rogue, Remy come in." Scott's static voice said through the intercom, breaking the silence.  
  
"I tink we had enough fun in de sun fo' one day non? Remy asked the girls who all nodded in agreement. Remy walked over to Kitty, who was still pretty wiped, and picked her up. He then walked back to the beach with Chloe at his heals.  
  
Rogue sighed and picked up her intercom. "Yeah Scott we're here. Gatha up thah rest a thah group. We got Chloe and Kitty and we're goin home." She answered warily before turning off the link and catching up with the others.  
  
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You know the drill  
  
Hope you liked it.blah blah blah  
  
I'm not updating until I have at least six or seven reviews.blah blah blah  
  
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-AngieX 


	17. Rogue&Remy Sittin' in a tree

CHAPTER 17  
  
Rogue&Remy Sittin' in a Tree  
  
".And after I slipped I fell on my head and the next thing I knew I was getting mouth-to-mouth by some guy." Kitty said to the others.  
  
"Some guy that happened to be the enemy." Scott put in.  
  
"The very cute, good looking enemy." Tabitha added as the girls all giggled.  
  
"Hey Tabby you'd better not get any ideas." Amara said playfully.  
  
"Exactly." Scott agreed.  
  
"Yeah, all the girls know Kitty's already called dibs on the metal man." Amara continued.  
  
Scott rolled his eyes.  
  
"Mutants that want to take over the world I get. Humans fearing and hating said mutants I get. But teenage girls I will never ever get!" Scott said before standing up and walking into the kitchen.  
  
"Amara! I so do not like him. He's the bad guy remember?" Kitty asked.  
  
"That's not what it looked like fro, where we were standin lass." Rahne added in her Scottish accent.  
  
"Yeah. Don't try to deny it. We all saw the look on your face when you realized he'd been kissing you." Jubilee pointed out.  
  
"This coming from the girl who spent the day flirting with Bobby." Chloe piped in.  
  
They all got quiet and looked at Jubilee who was blushing furiously and then Bobby walked in with the guys and they all started giggling again.  
  
Bobby looked at them with a puzzled look on his face.  
  
"What?" He asked the girls.  
  
"Nothing!" They all said in unison and began giggling again before getting up and walking to one of the girl's rooms.  
  
"What was that about?" Sun Spot asked.  
  
"Who knows. Probably something about clothes or hair or whatever." Bobby said, walking across the room to the pool table.  
  
Before the girls got too giggly they were all sitting in the rec room lounging around and listening to Kitty's story. All except one Goth girl.  
  
Remy had been shuffling cards in a chair while Kitty and the girls were chatting. They didn't seem to care that he was in the room.  
  
Gambit smirked to himself. Piotr would surely die if he knew he was a main topic in a teenage girl's conversation.  
  
He slipped out the sliding doors and closed in quietly behind him.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rogue sat up in the tree, staring up into the bright, star scattered sky through the parted leaves. She leaned back on the sturdy branch and crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
She was now just about laying on the thick branch, looking up at the stars. She traced the conciliations with her fingers pointing toward the stars and savored the silence besides the crickets chirping and frogs croaking somewhere around her.  
  
The girl couldn't get rid of the horrible, heart aching feeling that she had felt that afternoon at the beech when she saw Kitty breathing after her knock on the head.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Remy looked around the grounds in search of Rogue. He had a feeling she didn't want to talk, and if she wanted to be alone, she'd find a way to be alone. All he had to do now was find where she was hiding.  
  
"Who knew Remy'd be playin hide an' seek wit de fcemmes at his age?" He thought aloud.  
  
This was indeed a game of hide and seek to him. Rogue had hidden, and now it was his turn to find her.  
  
"Now where be dat fille." He questioned aloud. He'd already looked everywhere he could think of. Maybe she'd left the institute and was just out somewhere.  
  
Remy was about to go looking inside when he spotted a single leaf fall from a tree that was surrounded by one of Storm's gardens.  
  
"Leaves fall off de trees in de fall but it be spring." He said, the grin on his face spreading.  
  
"Gotcha." He said strolling over to the tree that was shedding it's leaves during the wrong season.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rogue sighed, closing her eyes. It was so peaceful here, but she still couldn't get the thoughts out of her mind that had been plaguing her sense the afternoon.  
  
She tuned out the crickets and the other sounds nature was making. She started to drift asleep when she heard a twig snap.  
  
She jerked her head up to see what it was. She looked around underneath her at the bottom of the tree but saw nothing. The Goth figured she was just being paranoid and that a squirl had probably been the cause of the noise.  
  
She closed her eyes again and tried to empty her thoughts from her head.  
  
"Why ya out here all by yo' lonesome chere?" The newcomer asked her.  
  
His breath was so close to her ear she could feel it. She jerked herself up and nearly fell out of the tree in the process.  
  
She gasped at his arrival, not expecting anyone to be there with her.  
  
"Damn it Cajun! Ah sware yer gonna end up killin meh from shock if ya keep sneakin up on meh like that!" She scolded him.  
  
" Unless o'course Ah kill ya first." Rogue added with a playfully evil smirk.  
  
"Oh sorry chere, did Remy scare ya?" He asked.  
  
"Hell yea.Ah mean no! Its just that Ah wasn't expectin anybody." She said coolly.  
  
"Mmhm." Remy looked skeptically at her.  
  
"Ah'm gonna have ta get ya one o' those cow bells or somethin' like people get their cats ta wear so they know where they are." She commented.  
  
"Remy'd love any gift from you chere." He said smoothly.  
  
"Why are ya out here anyway?" She questioned.  
  
"Remy believes he asked ya dat question first petite." He said, changing the subject back to his original question.  
  
"Non o' yer business Swamp Rat." She shot back, readjusting her position on the tree limb so she wouldn't fall off.  
  
"Now chere, Remy jus' wanna talk wit ya. He can' help it. He's curious." Remy said, pouting at her.  
  
"Yeah well, didn' anyone ever tell ya? Curiosity killed the Cajun." She shot back, avoiding the question.  
  
Remy sighed and draped his arm around her as she dangled her legs off the branch. To his surprise she didn't move away.  
  
"Now tell Remy what dis be all about. What's upsettin mon chere?" He asked. Rogue didn't look at him, but she noticed that he sounded like he was actually sincere in his feelings. Like he really wanted to know and to help.  
  
She took a deep breath and exhaled it before continuing. "Well." She started, not sure how to say what she was about to say.  
  
"Oui?" He asked patiently.  
  
"Its just that.when Ah saw Kitty there, she looked so lifeless an' all." Rogue said.  
  
Remy nodded his head in understanding, knowing that seeing her friend face near death was not the thing that was upsetting her because they'd had to deal with that every time they went on a mission.  
  
"And.and Ah was just thinkin'." She began.  
  
"Tinkin bout what chere?" He asked curiously.  
  
"Thinkin that.that what if it was different? What if Ah was the one that was there and Ah was the only one that was able ta save her. If Collosus hadn't gotten to her when he did she'd have been.ya know." She explained, not wanting to finish.  
  
Remy nodded in agreement again.  
  
"And what if Chloe found meh instead? What if Ah was the only one that could save her and we wouldn't have had time to get the others? What if Chloe wasn't there and Ah was thah only one that could save her?" Rogue asked, looking Remy in the face, as if she were waiting for an answer to her questions.  
  
"What if dat happened den? You'd be fine savin her if ya had ta." He said, pulling her closer comfortingly.  
  
"No. No ya don't get it!" She said a little louder then her tone was before.  
  
"Den tell Remy chere. Tell him what he don't get." He said.  
  
"If Ah was there and was thah only one there then she'd be dead. She'd be dead cause Ah.Cause Ah couldn't help her. Ah couldn't touch her or give her resesitation like Colossus did back there. If Ah tried Ah'd end up killin her, not savin her." She said to him in frustration.  
  
Remy looked at the girl next to him. He'd realized what she was afraid of. She couldn't touch her friends if they needed her to. She was feeling useless.  
  
He stroked her hair gently as she rested her head on his clothed chest. "Ah feel so stupid fer feelin' this way but ah.Ah just can't help it." She told him.  
  
"S'okay chere. Remy's here fo' ya." He said, letting her rest on his body.  
  
"But y' need ta know petite, dat de X-men.dey yo' family an' dey love ya no matta what ya can and can't do." He assured her.  
  
"Ah know. And Ah keep telling mahself that but.but what if something like that really does happen and the only way ta save em' would be ta touch em?" She asked, looking up into his red on black eyes. Her green orbs shimmered like jewels in the moonlight.  
  
"Chere if Remy know anyting bout you it be dat ya don' not do sometin jus' cause ya powas get in de way. His chere always finds a way aroun' her ability. Dats one o' de tings he likes bout her. She neva gives up." He said into her ear.  
  
Her heart fluttered a little and she looked away from him, hiding her blush.  
  
"Chere ya blushin." He said to her, smirking.  
  
"No I aint. Ah'm just..getting warm out here." She said quickly.  
  
"Sure mon petite. What eva ya say." He said, grinning at her.  
  
"Ah think maybe ya should use up that free date Ah said Ah'd give ya tonight" She said after a minute.  
  
"Why is dat?" He asked, curious because the girl was trying to get him to forget about the date she'd been conned into the previous week.  
  
"Cause Ah just remembered somethin" She said, grabbing her stomach.  
  
"An' dat would be?" He asked, confused.  
  
"Tonight's Kitty's night ta make dinner." She said.  
  
They both shuddered a little at the memory of Kitty's last creation. They still weren't quite sure what it was that they'd been forced to eat but they knew it was going to get them back later on in the night.  
  
"Well den how bout you go get yo'self ready an' Remy be waitin fo' ya downstairs." He said, lifting her up and setting her down on the ground near the blooming flowers.  
  
"Fine.but nowhere fancy. Ah just wanna have some fun tonight alright?" She told him.  
  
"Alright chere. Remy promises ta keep it casual sense ya gonna dress ta way he supposes." He said, looking her up and down.  
  
"Yeah fine, you can stop lookin' now." She said, trying to make eye contact.  
  
"Yeah but what fun would dat be?" He asked, still looking at her figure.  
  
She rolled her eyes and threw an acorn at his head.  
  
They both laughed and she walked back to the mansion to go get dressed and he watched her backside the entire time until she closed the door and was out of sight.  
  
Remy grinned and walked into the mansion the same direction she'd gone in.  
  
"Now fo' de hard part. Ta get trough dis witout de entire male half o' de team goin big brotha on him." He said to himself, reaching the door and entering the house.  
  
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Review and tell me plz! 


	18. Preperations

CHAPTER 18  
  
Preparations  
  
"Rogue I'm so not letting you get out of trying out my new creation for dinner without a decent reason." Kitty stated firmly.  
  
"Kitty Ah can't tell ya. Its not like I really wanna go and do this anyways. Ah don't really have a choice." Rogue answered, trying to keep her voice down.  
  
"Like what's going on Rogue? Tell me!" Kitty persisted.  
  
"Fine. But only if ya promise Ah can skip dinner without ya makin a huge seen about it." Rogue stated.  
  
Kitty nodded her head in agreement and waited for the excuse.  
  
Rogue dragged her over closer to the bed and sat down with her.  
  
"Well ya rememba when Remy was in tha med lab a week ago?" Rogue began.  
  
Kitty nodded her head with a yes.  
  
"Well when he was there Ah kinda let mah emotions get thah best a me and Ah promised him a date if he recovered." She explained.  
  
Kitty's jaw dropped five inches.  
  
"How was Ah supposed ta know the damn Cajun was awake when Ah said it?" She asked hastily at the look her roommate was giving her.  
  
"So now Ah gotta go out on this date and get it over with. Ah've been tryin ta avoid it all week but ya know how damn stubborn that boy is." Rogue finished.  
  
Kitty just stared at her in awe.  
  
"Well? Aint ya gonna say anything?" Rogue asked, a little irritated that she was having to wait for her friend's reaction.  
  
"YOUR GOING ON A DATE WITH REMY!?!?!?" Kitty squealed out loudly in shock after a few more seconds of silence.  
  
The rest of the younger girls who were still in the room, but looking through magazines to see which was cuter, Orlando Bloom or Tom Welling, looked up from their activity with their eyes widening and shock painted on their faces at the Valley girl's outburst.  
  
"No way!" Tabby blurted out, rushing over to Rogue who was turning scarlet.  
  
"Rogue is this true? Are you actually hooking up with Remy?" Jubilee asked, running over with Tabby as the two jumped onto the bed.  
  
The rest of the girls giggled and squealed excitedly and joined Rogue as well.  
  
Rogue felt more then a little uncomfortable as the discussion of the room suddenly turned to her date.  
  
"Do we really have ta talk about this?" Rogue asked warily. She wasn't up for a gossip fest with the rest of the X-girls.  
  
"YES!" They all shouted back at her.  
  
"Guys come on, we like shouldn't make Rogue talk about this now." Kitty told them all.  
  
"Thanks Kit." Rogue said, a little surprised that Kitty of all people was the one who was putting a stop to the girly, boy-crazy madness in the room.  
  
"We so like don't have time for her to answer all your questions. We've got to like get her ready for her big date!" Kitty continued. "Plus I'm sure Rogue will have a lot more to tell us when she gets back from the date." Kitty said logically.  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes and slapped her hand to her eyes. 'Ah should have known.' She thought, flopping backwards onto her pillow and laying there limply.  
  
Everyone was chattering and going through Rogue's clothing selection and looking through magazines for a good idea on how she should wear her hair that they didn't notice when as soon as Kitty blurted out the news of the date and everyone ran over to them, Chloe stood alone with a somber, pained look in her eyes and on her face before she solemnly walked out of the room.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Hey Gambit why'd ya change your clothes again?" You turning girl on us or something? Bobby teased.  
  
The other boys and men looked up from their activities to see what Drake was talking about.  
  
"Non, Gambit jus' felt like changin is all." Remy answered simply.  
  
"You goin out or somethin Cajun?" Logan asked, seeing the boy fingering his keys.  
  
"Oui. At least Remy tinks so." He replied, sitting down in the recliner.  
  
Scott and Kurt exchanged quizzical looks as the others just stared at the Cajun bluntly.  
  
"What's with the rose Cajun?" Logan growled, sniffing the air.  
  
Remy pulled the long stemmed white rose out from under his coat wich was sitting on the table and twirled it in his hand.  
  
This perked the curiosity of all the boys in the room immensely.  
  
"You taking out a girl of something?" Scott inquired.  
  
"Oui." Remy answered without saying anything else.  
  
"Sooo..vhich vone of ze girls are you taking out?' Kurt asked.  
  
Gambit coughed and avoided Kurt's eyes.  
  
Scott got the picture. He didn't want the picture, but he got it.  
  
"Uh.Kurt why don't we go play some one on one outside." Evan suggested, picking up a basketball and spinning it with one finger.  
  
"Sounds good to me." Kurt said, walking out the door with Evan.  
  
"What was that about?" Logan asked Scott.  
  
"Huh? Nothing. Hey Logan wasn't there supposed to be a training session with the newer recruits." Scott suggested.  
  
The younger boys all glared at Scott.  
  
"No. What are you hiding? Logan asked.  
  
Remy sat uncomfortably in his seat. How long was she going to be? He really didn't want to be hearing a lecture from Logan.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"What about this scarf with this purple crop top?" Jubilee suggested.  
  
"No I think she'd look better in the gray tank top and the matching scarf." Amara said, holding it up to the Goth who was looking annoyed.  
  
"Forget that. What about a bottom? Jeans? Skirt? Leather?" Tabby asked taking random clothes out of the closet and piling them in Kitty's arms.  
  
"Will ya'll calm down already? It's a date, not a fashion show." Rogue scolded.  
  
"They all became silent for a second but soon went back to mixing and matching clothes.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Five games of vone on vone vit you ees enough for tonight Evan." Kurt said walking back into the room.  
  
Remy and Scott both looked at their watches.  
  
"Whats up with you two? You double datin or something?" Logan asked.  
  
"Well Jean and I were going to try and catch the seven o'clock movie at the Cineplex but if she takes too long we're going to miss the show." Scott replied.  
  
"Remy got sometin different planned fo' his date." Remy said, not bothering to specify.  
  
"So Gambit, which one of the girls are you taking out?" Bobby inquired.  
  
"Careful there Remy, Bobby's got his eyes on Jubilee." Sam answered, grinning at Bobby who gave him a half hearted glare.  
  
"I do not!" Bobby protested.  
  
"Do too." Sam shot back.  
  
"Do not!" Bobby repeated.  
  
"Do too, You loooove her!" Sam said, batting his eyes.  
  
Bobby iced up a pillow and threw it at the Southerner.  
  
"Hey!" Sam said, rubbing his jaw.  
  
"And ta think I gave up being a SHEILD agent for this. I don't do babysitting." Logan grunted to no one in particular.  
  
"Dat be what Remy told himself when Chloe moved in." Remy told the older man.  
  
"Don' worry mon ami. Yo fille be a lil too young fo' Gambit." Remy told Bobby.  
  
"A little? Try a lot bub. She's fourteen and your.what? Eighteen?" Logan asked.  
  
"Nineteen." Gambit corrected.  
  
"Don' worry Mon ami, Remy aint gonna be a cradle robber o' nuttin." Remy assured the older man.  
  
"yeah well you better stay that way." Logan said.  
  
"Remy assures ya dat he aint takin any o' de younga femmes out." Gambit told him.  
  
"Remy you moron! What the hell were you thinking taking Rogue out?" Chloe shouted, swinging open the doors to the room.  
  
All the boys looked at her for a minute and then at Remy.  
  
Logan was not happy.  
  
"Uh.Petite, memba dat ting Remy tol' ya bout not shoutin stuff across de room?" Remy asked, inching away from Wolverine.  
  
"Remy, Kitchen NOW!" Chloe said, tugging him by the collar into the next room.  
  
Kurt stood there dumb founded at what he had just heard.  
  
"He's taking out Rogue? But.but." Kurt stuttered.  
  
"But nothing man, the Cajun's taking her out for a movie or something. It's not that big a deal." Evan assured the blue boy.  
  
"Not a big deal!? Not a big deal!?" Kurt asked frantically.  
  
"This is infact a very big deal. It must be illegal. She's too young vor him!" Kurt said.  
  
"Kurt get a hold of yourself. She's sixteen, not six. And he's eighteen, not eighty. There's not that much of a difference." Bobby said. The younger boys all got close to the door to the Kichen and put their ears up against the door so they could hear.  
  
Suddenly the door swung open swiftly and knocked all three of them to the ground.  
  
An angry Chloe just glared at them before shutting the door again behind her.  
  
"He's taking out Stripes?" Logan asked.  
  
Scott nodded.  
  
"On a date?" Logan questioned.  
  
Scott nodded again.  
  
"With eachother?" The older mutant asked.  
  
Scott nodded yet again, only slower this time.  
  
"CAJUN!" Logan yelled, standing up.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Okay Remy lets hear it." Chloe said, tapping her foot on the ground.  
  
"Hear what?" Remy asked, confused.  
  
"What? How about what the hell are you thinking?" Chloe answered.  
  
"Come again petite?" he asked innocently.  
  
"Okay let me rephrase that. Why are you taking out the resident Goth?" Chloe asked a little bit louder.  
  
"Petite Remy knows mere taught ya dat it don' matta what be on de outside, its what's on de inside dat counts." He scolded her.  
  
"That's not what I meant. She's not like one of your little flings in New Orleans. She's a part of the X-men, which incase you haven't noticed is the team we're on." She explained bluntly.  
  
"petie dis not be one o' Remy's flings. Dis be jus' a date. Remy really wanna get ta know dis fille betta. He aint gonna do anyting ta screw up de team o' nuttin." He explained honestly.  
  
"Remy really cares fo' her." He told his little sister.  
  
"You think you really care for her Remy?" She asked.  
  
He nodded a yes.  
  
"Two words big brother, Bella-Donna." She said, holding up her two fingers one at a time while she said the words.  
  
"Dat was in de past. An' it wasn't Remy's fault dat dey tried ta marry him off at sixteen."  
  
"Nothings your fault is it? I just don't want to see Rogue get hurt. Your really messing with her mind you know." She told him.  
  
"How so?" He asked.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes.  
  
"Exactly how dense can you possibly be? Rogue keeps herself away from everyone so she doesn't get tempted to touch. If she's not around people then she doesn't feel the need to touch them. But then you, ya big dufass, come waltzing in here, putting on the charm and making her feel special. Now she wants to be around people, you being the main person and she cant touch them. How do you think she's gonna feel?" Chloe explained.  
  
Remy was about to talk but Chloe cut him off.  
  
"And another thing. These people have taken me in and treated me like family. Rogue and the other girls are like older sisters to me, and I don't want to see her get hurt. And even if your don't mean to, you could still hurt her. You sort of have a reputation for that kind of stuff." Chloe said.  
  
"Ya done petite?" He asked.  
  
".yes." She answered.  
  
Remy put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes so she knew how serious he was.  
  
"Look petite, Remy undastands dat ya taken a likin ta dis place an' de people here, an' ta be honest so has Remy." He told her.  
  
"So Remy aint gonna do nuttin ta ruin dat fo' us but ya gotta undastand dat Remy really do care fo' dis femme an' he'd neva hurt her." He said with a serious face.  
  
"Alright fine.but if you hurt her." Chloe was cut off by a SNKT as three blades cut into the door five inches away from Remy who was stan ding in front of it and almost up against it.  
  
"That." Chloe finished, pointing to the blades in the wood..  
  
"Wolverine walked into the room and stared down at Gambit. "What's this I hear about you takin out Stripes?" Logan asked gruffly.  
  
"Well I'm just gonna give you two some time alone. See ya." Chloe said quickly before bolting out the door and up the stairs, leaving Remy alone with Wolverine.  
  
"Dat fille gonna be de end o' me." Remy murmered, looking over to a see a not so happy Logan.  
  
"Well Remy betta be goin on his way den." Remy said making his way toward the rec room door.  
  
"Not so fast Gumbo." Wolverine said, grabbing him by the collar and sitting him down on the chair.  
  
"Now listen up. There's a few things you should know about Stripes." Logan began.  
  
'Oh great. The over protective fader figure.' Remy thought to himself with a sigh of defeat.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Chloe quietly opened the door to Rogue and Kitty's room.  
  
"Hey Chloe where'd you run off to?" Jubilee asked.  
  
"Oh well.I uh." Chloe stuttered, trying to think of an excuse besides the fact that she just yelled at her brother for going out with Rogue. She felt stupid and guilty about it now that she'd had a talk with him.  
  
"She came to get me. Said something about Rogue's date and asked if she could borrow some jewelry to see how it looked on Rogue." Jean answered, stepping into the room behind Chloe.  
  
They all nodded and turned back to Rogue's clothes crisis.  
  
"Next time you want to have a private conversation with Remy or somebody I suggest doing it where there aren't air vents all around you. I could hear it from my room." Jean whispered pointing up at the ceiling where the vents were located in each of the rooms.  
  
Chloe nodded in understanding.  
  
"I was wondering how you knew I was with Remy." Chloe added in a whisper of her own and walked over to the bed with Jean behind her.  
  
"So what do you think Jean?" Jubilee asked.  
  
"Yeah, did we like do a good job or what?" Kitty questioned the red-head.  
  
"Alright that's it Ah'm gonna go see what ya'll are makin me look like." Rogue said, walking over to her mirror. She wasn't allowed to see what they were doing to her until they were done but the more they did the more anxious she got.  
  
"No!" They all shouted, but it was too late. Rogue had already seen herself.  
  
Rogue didn't say anything. She just stared back at the girl in the mirror.  
  
"Uh.Rogue?" Kitty asked.  
  
Everyone was waiting to hear the Goth's opinion.  
  
"Ah." Rogue started.  
  
"Ah." She repeated.  
  
"Yeah Rogue?" Amara asked.  
  
"Ah look like a girl. And Ah'm wearin pink. Ah'm not walkin out of this room wearin pink." She said, looking down at the clothes she was in.  
  
"Maybe we should put a little more 'Rogue' back in her style for this date." Jean suggested.  
  
"Yeah, I mean she's not going to feel comfortable on the date if she doesn't feel comfortable in her own clothes." Chloe added.  
  
"Finally, somebody speakin mah language." Rogue remarked, pulling off the pink top and white slacks.  
  
'How about.." Chloe said, flipping through the clothes in the closet.  
  
"This!" Tabby said, stopping Chloe's hands at a hanger and pulling it out.  
  
She held the hanger up for Rogue and the rest of the girls to see.  
  
"Hmm.." Rogue mused.  
  
The hanger held a short, sleeveless black and green dress. It was a solid black with green designs on it. The hem stopped about three inches above her knees and it was made out of a silky material that would accent her curves.  
  
"Its perfect." Chloe said.  
  
"Go on Rogue, try it on." Tabby said, handing the girl the dress.  
  
Rogue took the hanger and looked it over a few times.  
  
Then she walked into her walk in closet and came out a minute later in the dress.  
  
"Wow!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
"Oh Rogue its beautiful." Amara said.  
  
The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.  
  
"Thanks." Rogue said, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.  
  
"Now Ah just gotta fix mah hair." Rogue said sarcastically, trying to sound like a fashion obsessed teenager.  
  
"Your right." Kitty said.  
  
"Ah was kiddin." Rogue said.  
  
"Oh.well that's okay because I still have an idea." Kitty said, going over to her dresser.  
  
She flipped through a magazine and showed Jean a photograph of a model's hair style.  
  
"What do you think?" She asked.  
  
"Hmm.I think its doable." Jean commented, looking over at Rogue.  
  
"Mind if I try something?" Jean asked the Goth, floating a brush to her hand.  
  
Rogue looked at the girl suspiciously. "Do I have a choice?"  
  
"Nope, your overpowered by the teenage girls." Kitty told her, giggling.  
  
"Great, just great." Rogue said, sitting down in the chair in front of the vanity mirror.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Dat be all mon ami?" Remy asked, standing up with a sigh looking at his watch. It had been ten minutes sense Chloe had left and Logan started his little talk with him.  
  
"No." Logan said gruffly, grabbing Gambit by the collar and sitting him down on the chair again.  
  
"Now where was I? Oh yeah." Logan said, continuing on his lecture about the safety he wanted Rogue to be in.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"There! Walla!" Jean said, sticking a pick into Rogue's hair that was now put up in a fancy, delicately designed bun.  
  
"Ah look like a girl outta Japan." She said, looking at her reflection.  
  
"Well you are wearing a Japanese dress and your hair is put up in a bun like that so." Kitty drawled off.  
  
"Never mind." She said quickly after getting a glare from her roommate.  
  
"Wait, don't forget these." Jean said, walking over to her.  
  
She pulled out a green scarf and handed it to Rogue. She looked at it and wondered what she could do with it.  
  
"Oh! Oh! I know I know!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
Rogue handed her the silky scarf and wrapped it around the girl's waist, tying it on the side.  
  
"Nice touch." Chloe commented.  
  
"Oh and don't forget these." Jean said, handing Rogue her green choker and matching earings that dangled a little on Rogue's ears.  
  
"Okay Ah'm way too dressed up." Rogue said.  
  
"No your not." Amara assured her.  
  
"Now hurry up already. Prince Charming is waiting downstairs." Amara said to her.  
  
"Yeah.just don't let him charm his way into letting him have his way." Chloe muttered to her before leaving the room with the rest of the girls.  
  
Rogue knew there was something Chloe wasn't telling her and the younger girl wanted to very badly but because she wasn't saying anymore, Rogue decided not to press it for now.  
  
Now that she was alone, she walked over to the mirror and checked herself over. She had barely any makeup at all. Her fingers itched to put on the pale foundation in her drawer and put on her mask to protect herself but somehow she had a feeling she wasn't going to need the mask tonight.  
  
She smiled at herself and tugged slightly at her white bangs, letting them fall to frame her face.  
  
Rogue walked over to the door and put her hand on the knob. She looked down at her hands and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well duh!" She said to herself, walking over to her dresser and pulling out a pair of gloves. They were silk and green so they matched with what she was wearing.  
  
She went toward the door again after tugging on her gloves and put her hand on the knob once more. She paused and let go of the knob, walking over to her closet and pulling out a mini-backpack. Lucky for her green was one of her favorite colors, or else she'd never he able to pull off this outfit with a matching bag and all.  
  
She opened the bag and moved over to her bed, grabbing a pair of jeans her boots and a tank top with her white netting cover and stuffed them into her bag.  
  
'At least this way if Ah'm too ova dressed Ah can still change when we leave without Kitty and thah othas makin a fuss about it.' She thought to herself, zipping up the bag and putting her arms through the straps before walking out of the room.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Remy looked at his watch for the third time in the past five minutes. He was slouched down in a slump, trying to get through Wolverine's lecture. At the moment though he was dosing off.  
  
"CAJUN!" Logan's growl pulled him out of his trance as he jerked up in his seat.  
  
"Oui?" Remy responded.  
  
"I said ya better get into the rec room. She'll be waitin for ya if ya take any longer." Logan told him.  
  
"Oui homme. Nice chattin wit ya. Maybe we do it again sometime." Remy said before grabbing the rose from the counter and going into the other room only to be met by Kurt.  
  
"Oh come on!" Remy groaned as he felt another older brother speech coming on. He gave up and sat in the chair, ready to listen to what Kurt had to say as well.  
  
Kurt was about to say something but was cut off by low whistles and hoots coming from the other room. Remy nearly dropped the rose and Kurt looked taken back by how his sister looked.  
  
"Mon Dui!" Remy breathed, looking her up and down.  
  
"Ach! Nien! Stop looking at her like zat!" Kurt ordered to the Cajun, blocking his view of his sister.  
  
"Yeah yeah Ah know, thah girl squad over there wouldn't let meh leave mah room until they got ta play dress up with meh." Rogue explained, looking at the clock.  
  
"You tink dat be bad? Remy jus' spent twenty minutes wit de Wolverine havin 'de talk'." Remy grimaced.  
  
"Thah talk?" She echoed.  
  
"Oui. Ya know dat 'Stay away from Stripes if y' know what be good fo' ya, bub.' Talk." He answered, trying to sound like the older X-man with his Cajun accent.  
  
Rogue couldn't help but laugh at this.  
  
Remy gasped and stared at her in disbelief.  
  
"What?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Do mon ears deseve Remy o' did de femme belle jus' not only smile, but laugh?" Remy said in a surprised voice. He smirked afterwards when he was done mocking her.  
  
"Do ya wanna go or not?" She said, realizing they had an audience.  
  
"Oui, but mon chere do Remy one fava first." Remy requested.  
  
"And that would be?" She asked.  
  
"Take dis rose an' pinch dis Cajun ta make sure he not be dreamin." He answered with a smirk.  
  
"Gladly." Rogue answered with an evil smirk, taking the rose and pinching him hard in the arm.  
  
"Ow! Remy was jus' playin petite. He didn' mean it." He said, rubbing his arm.  
  
"Well then maybe next time you'll think twice b'fore givin me a corny line like that." She said, putting on her jacket.  
  
"Be back by twelve you two. Not a minute later." Storm told them before letting them pass to get to the door.  
  
"We will Storm, don't worry. If Ah have anything ta say about it, this night'll end long b'fore twelve." Rogue told the older woman who smiled with amusement.  
  
"I want you two back at the institute by twelve. Not 12:01, twelve." Logan said before reluctantly letting them pass.  
  
"And no speeding on that bike of yours with her on the back Gumbo." He called as they walked to the motorcycle.  
  
Remy gave him a mock salute with turning around and kept on walking toward the bike.  
  
He put his arm around Rogue while walking but she shoved it away almost immediately.  
  
'Why not immediately?' Logan thought to himself, walking back into the mansion and closing the door behind him as he heard the roar of a bike's engine come on and fade away into the distance.  
  
He turned around and saw all the students staring at him.  
  
"What?" He asked in a low, fierce growl that showed how pissed he was at the moment.  
  
Kurt Bamfed away with Evan, The younger students ran in random directions into different rooms out the doors, Jamie ran into a wall and all eight of him scattered, Kitty phased through the floor with Amara and Jean and Scott grabbed their coats and shouted something about the movies to the adult before racing out the front door.  
  
Logan was all alone now, just the way he liked it usually.  
  
'Now to watch some football and.' He stopped midway in his thoughts and his tracks over to the couch where the TV was and scowled.  
  
Chloe was sprawled out on the couch with a TV guide in one hand and the remote in the other.  
  
She didn't bother looking up or even moving from her spot when everyone else ran.  
  
"She looked up at Logan and then looked to the TV and back at her superior.  
  
"I'm gonna watch some TV, you wanna join?" She asked.  
  
Logan rolled his eyes. How pathetic was he?  
  
He sighed in defeat and sat down on the chair next to him.  
  
"What are we watchin kid?" He asked, sounding bored already.  
  
"Oh umm.Sex in the City." She answered, looking over to see what his reaction was.  
  
It was a scowl, a growl, and a whole bunch of other stuff that was saying, 'like hell we are. Try again.'  
  
So she did. "I mean.MtV." She tried again.  
  
He shot her the same look.  
  
"Uh.Gilmore Girls." She said.  
  
He still wore the same look. Then she realized what he wanted. She rolled her eyes and complained on the inside but knew it'd probably be a whole lot easier if he got his way with Rogue being out on a date and all.  
  
"Football?" She ventured.  
  
He nodded a yes and changed the station to the sports channel as the people in the stadium all started sitting down after the Star Spangled Banner.  
  
Chloe plopped back down on the couch, a little peeved that she'd just been scared out of her right to the television and put her headphones on, pressing the play button and taking out a magazine, starting to read through it while pretending Logan and the game did not exist for the time being.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
K how was it?  
  
Hope ya'll liked it.  
  
I know you all wanted the date chapter to be now but I need more time for it.  
  
Too much school work and I don't want to rush this chapter. Its very important for Romy luvers becuz DUH! It's the date!  
  
Okay review and tell me what you thought.  
  
I'll try and post the next Chapter ASAP!  
  
Peace out Peeps! 


	19. Love is in the Air Pt 1

Here it is you guyz. Their first date! Hope you enjoy!  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
CHAPTER 19  
  
Love is in the Air Pt. 1  
  
"So where is it yer takin meh Cajun?" Rogue asked over the roar of the engine.  
  
"It be a surprise petite." He answered simply.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Ah'm a little too old fer surprises dontcha think Cajun?" She asked.  
  
"Non, y'can neva be too old fo' surprises." He assured her.  
  
She smiled a little and he sped up a bit after turning onto an empty road off the highway.  
  
She felt herself sliding off the bike slightly and she quickly tightened her grasp around Remy's waist. Remy grinned at this and continued at the fast pace.  
  
XXXXXXXXXX  
  
Kitty walked downstairs with an envelope in her hands. She saw Logan sitting on the couch, watching the football game. She smirked a little. 'Looks like Chloe didn't get to watch her show tonight after all.' She thought, feeling a little sorry for the girl but then realized that she was lying on the couch, entertaining herself with a magazine.  
  
"I'm like going to the post office now." Kitty told anyone who was around her to let them know she was leaving the house.  
  
Scott beeped his horn impatiently. "Come on Kitty, Jean and I are going to miss the movie." He yelled into the house.  
  
They would have been at the movies already if one of his tires hadn't run over some broken glass in the road and they had to go back because the spare had just been used after a battle.  
  
Kitty took this chance to get a ride into town.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Jeez Scott hold your horses." She said, phasing into the backseat. Jean was sitting up front and the other two mutants didn't look too pleased that Kitty was taking time away from when their date started. It started after she left.  
  
"Ready!" Kitty said, clicking on her seatbelt.  
  
Scott turned on the car and was about to drive through the gates when almost all of the other students came outside with envelopes in their hands.  
  
"Hey wait up." Bobby shouted.  
  
"Kitty can you drop off our letters to our families while your there?" Amara asked hopefully.  
  
"Sure." Kitty said, and before she knew it she was buried under about sixty letters.  
  
"Families?" Kitty asked them.  
  
"Families, friends, pen pals, old neighbors. You know." Jubilee answered.  
  
Kitty just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Why don't you just hand me a sack and a blue cap and like make me a mailman?.girl..person." Kitty said sarcastically.  
  
"the kids looked at each other before Kurt bamfed away and back in seconds with a blue baseball cap and a shopping bag.  
  
"Good Idea." Bobby said to her as Kurt tossed the bag on her lap and put the cap on her head.  
  
Kitty scowled at him for taking her seriously. He on the other hand had gotten a kick out of it.  
  
"Can we go now!?" Scott asked, annoyed. He'd been looking at his watching for the past five minutes.  
  
"Yes. Let's get out of here before they decide to have me drop off boxes too." Kitty said.  
  
"Hey good idea." Ray said, getting ready to run in for a box.  
  
"Oh no you don't. We're out of here." Scott said, kicking it into high gear and driving out of the institute at a fast pace.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Here we are mon belle femme." Remy announced, getting off the bike and holding out his hand for her to take when she got off.  
  
She ignored the outstretched hand and helped herself down.  
  
Remy smirked at her. This was going to be fun.  
  
"Where are we? Ah don't remember seein this place in the Bayville restaurant directory." Rogue said, recalling the time they were so bored that her Kitty and Kurt had ended up spending the afternoon looking through the Bayville Yellow Pages.  
  
"Dat probably be cause we aint in Bayville." He stated, walking over to the building.  
  
It was a quaint little structure that was made out of wood and not the normal cement or plastic you saw in the city. It had a brick chimney on the top of the roof with smoke floating out of it and spreading into the air. The lights were on inside and you could hear people laughing and music playing. You could tell that the people inside were all having a good time.  
  
Rogue stared, dumbfounded at the sign a few yards back. She squinted her eyes and read Crownsville.  
  
"CROWNSVILLE? You drove us to Crownsville? That's two counties away!" She exclaimed, turning around to face him, only to find that he was already walking up to the doors of the eatery.  
  
Rogue hurried and caught up with him and grabbed him arm. He stopped and contained his smile before turning around and looking at her innocently.  
  
"How the hell did you manage to get us to Crownsville? We couldn't have been ridin fer more then an hour and a half." Rogue estimated.  
  
"Forty-five minutes actually, but who's countin?" Remy asked, smirking at her reaction.  
  
"How'd we get here so fast?" She asked.  
  
"Remy knows a few shortcuts." He answered.  
  
She cocked an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically.  
  
"An' maybe he went a lil faster den de speed limit mighta wanted him to." He said, putting on an innocent face.  
  
She rolled her eyes and sighed.  
  
"Well we're still alive. Ah'll give ya that. Now lets get inside. Its gonna start rainin." Rogue said, looking up at the clouds that were getting darker by the minute.  
  
"Oui, Dis place be de best in de state. Remy comes here all de time. It be like a second home ta come home to fo' dinner." He said.  
  
"Really? Didn't Magneto eva feed ya guys?" She asked.  
  
"He supplied us wit food if dat be what ya mean chere.but would you wanna eat sometin made by a pyromaniac flame controller?" He asked her. We used up eight fire extinguisha's in de first five weeks o' livin dere." He said, putting a look of disgust on his face as he reminisced about the burnt cooking.  
  
She laughed at his expression. It was an actual laugh and it made Remy's soul rise right out of his chest and float back down with like a feather. He smiled at her laughter. It was music to his ears. She was starting to open up.  
  
Remy quickly, yet gently took Rogue's gloved hand in his bare one and laced their fingers together. She flinched at his move but he squeezed her hand comfortingly and she smiled and decided to let it slide just this once.  
  
Her smile grew as the thunder in the background increased and the sun started to go down as the two mutants walked, hands intertwined, into the small diner together.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Scott's car came to a slow stop in front of the post office as Kitty hoisted the bag of letters over her shoulder and got out of the car.  
  
She still had the blue hat on and decided to leave it on. She decided to wear a blue sweater that day so it matched her outfit and with the hat covering her face partially, she had less of a chance to be noticed by any anti-mutant citizens of Bayville that may have caught her on the news.  
  
"I feel like Saint Nick." Kitty remarked grumpily to the other two as she adjusted the sack over her shoulder.  
  
"So? What's wrong with that? Everybody loves Santa Clause." Jean said humorously.  
  
"I'm Jewish!" Exclaimed.  
  
"Oh yeah." Jean recalled as her and Scott tried to contain their amused looks.  
  
"Here, I want you to take a taxi home if you miss the bus. It's getting too dark for you to be out here by yourself and it's too far to walk back to the institute anyway." Scott said, handing her a ten-dollar bill.  
  
"Okay." Kitty said, exasperated. She could take care of herself but she saw the logic in Scott's thinking.  
  
"Happy Holidays Mrs. Clause." Jean said kidding before she and Scott sped away to the movie theatre a few blocks away.  
  
"Ho, Ho, Ho!" Kitty said sarcastically in a grumpy, annoyed voice.  
  
She slumped into the almost deserted post office.  
  
She couldn't see the people's faces, only their feet and legs because Kurt's cap was two sizes too big for her head.  
  
She stopped in front of one of the indoor mailboxes and scooped up a handful of letters from the sack and dropped them into the open slot.  
  
She took another handful of letters from the bag and whirled around to dump them into the slot when someone intercepted her. She bumped into him and causing the letters to scatter all around her. There had to be at least fifteen of them on the ground.  
  
She groaned before bending down and kneeling on the ground, trying to gather up her lost mail. The students would be peeved at her if one of their letters hadn't been mailed.  
  
She had picked up six when she spotted a seventh under the table. She reached out her hand to retrieve it but instead of touching the letter her hand met with another hand.  
  
He was kneeling and she saw that it was the man she had bumped into and he was holding some of her letters. 'How sweet.' She thought. 'He's helping me pick up my stuff. Now why aren't there any guys out there for me like that?' She mused.  
  
"Uh.thanks." She said, taking the letters from him.  
  
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to make you loose your things like that." The man said in a foreign voice that she could tell she knew from somewhere but she wasn't sure where exactly.  
  
"Oh no, it was my fault. I should have been watching where I was going." She said.  
  
She still couldn't see his face.  
  
"Your welcome." He said, taking a step away from her and taking out a letter of his own.  
  
He gently tucked it into the slot before getting stamps from the front desk.  
  
Kitty had finished with all the letters and was about to leave when she slipped on a letter that she hadn't seen and would have skidded and fallen flat on her back if two strong arms hadn't caught her in the process.  
  
"Are you okay?" The person asked. She heard that it was the man she had bumped into before.  
  
"Yeah." She answered, picking herself up, embarrassed. She shoved the letter into the slot and dusted off her jeans.  
  
"I'm such a klutz today. I guess its just one of those day." Kitty trailed off, seeing the man's face.  
  
Her hat had fallen off her head when she slipped and she could see fully now.  
  
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something but found that her mouth was suddenly dry. She gulped down the dryness but could only say one thing while pointing a finger at him.  
  
"You!"  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Remy! Good ta see ya. We'll get you your regular table in just a sec alright sugah?" The young hostess said to him cheerfully. Rogue noticed that her mood had brightened incredibly when she saw him.  
  
"Non petite. Dis time Remy gonna need ta sit somewhere wit two seats." He said, holding up the hand that was intertwined with Rogue's.  
  
Rogue blushed at this. She liked being invisible. Remy was pointing her out.  
  
"Oh Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't see ya there Sugah. A table fer two fer Mr. Le beau and his date." The teenage girl said a little more formally. She had a southern accent and it reminded Rogue of her life before she was a mutant briefly.  
  
'They really do treat Remy like a part of the family here.' She thought to herself as they waited for a table. The girl was so informal it was like he was a brother. And then when Rogue was brought to attention she went back into service customer mode.  
  
Remy smiled at her and she hurried off into the kitchen.  
  
Rogue heard the other girl tell the people in the kitchen, "Remy's back ya'll. And he brought a girl." She said excitedly. They all made sounds of happiness at the news of his arrival. Rogue smiled and saw that Remy was smiling as well.  
  
"When was thah last time ya came here?" She asked, laughing.  
  
Remy's face grimaced for a few seconds and she saw it too but he soon replaced it with a smile.  
  
"Jus' b'fo' his parents.jus' befo' Chloe came." Remy said, not wanting to say the first part. It would ruin the mood and he didn't want Rogue or anyone else feeling sorry for him.  
  
She winced inwardly at her blunt stupidity and slapped herself in her head.  
  
Remy was surprised when he felt Rogue's hand squeeze his comfortingly the way he had done for her, minutes before.  
  
He looked down at her and saw that she was smiling up at him, her emerald eyes sincere.  
  
He smiled back and felt a majority of the sadness he was feeling at the moment lift from him.  
  
A minute later an older looking woman who was probably in her mid-forties came over and greeted them.  
  
"Oh Remy it's so good to see you." She said in a motherly tone, opening her arms for a hug. Remy smiled at Rogue and hugged the older woman. She held him in an embrace the way a mother did with a child that had been away in college. She let go, smiled at him and smacked him hard on the side of his head with a folded up newspaper.  
  
"Ow! Merde Denny, what was dat fo?" He asked, rubbing his head and squinting at her.  
  
"Fer takin off all of a sudden without givin us any notice. I swear child one of these days your going to give us a heart attack. We were worried sick about you. Thought you might have been attacked by one of them Anti- Mutant people." She said standing up straight and scolding him.  
  
"Sorry, sorry. You all should know Remy betta den dat. Y' know dose humans couldn't keep up wit him." He said cockily.  
  
"You're not invincible you know. One of these days you're going to learn that the hard way." She told him.  
  
Her attention turned from him as she just now noticed Rogue, who was watching the scene in front of her, feeling a little out of place.  
  
"Well now who do we have here? It isn't often that Remy brings a girl with him." The older woman said.  
  
Remy was about to open his mouth to introduce the two to each other when another voice interrupted them.  
  
"That's because he's scared we're gonna scare her off."  
  
Remy looked away from Rogue and Denny to see another teenage girl standing in the kitchen doorway in an apron and a short skirt with a pad and pen in her hand.  
  
"Renee!" He exclaimed and his smile widened.  
  
She just smiled back at him, her attitude seeming to go away with the smile that way growing on her face.  
  
"Long time no see Swamp Rat." She said, walking over to him and giving him a hug. He lifted her off the ground and swung her around once a few inches from the floor before putting her back down.  
  
"Bon t' see y' too River Rat." Remy answered. (Good)  
  
"Dey finally promote y' to waitress huh?" he asked, looking down at her attire. "Yeah, oh and by the way thanks for that tip you gave me about waitressing. You were right. The shorter the skirt the higher the tip." She said to him.  
  
He froze with a slightly guilty look on his face as he knew her mother, Denny, was right there.  
  
"Yeah, thanks so much for that Remy." Deny said sarcastically.  
  
"Well she's gotta learn de trade some time non?" He asked innocently.  
  
The older woman rolled her eyes and continued to look over at Rogue.  
  
"And what's your name Sugah?" Denny asked her, the motherly feeling about her returning when she started talking to Rogue.  
  
"Mah name's Rogue." She said a little bit quieter then Remy had hoped. He had a feeling she'd be a little nervous but these people were good for curing nervousness.  
  
"Well what'dya know. The Cajuns brought home a Southerner!" Renee said after hearing Rogue's accent.  
  
"Oui, What can Remy say? He jus' loves de South." He said, grinning at Rogue.  
  
"Well now why don't we leave ya'll alone and let ya order ya food." Denny said, pushing Renee away.  
  
"Oh but I wanna see Remy get slapped by the girl." A voice came from under the table.  
  
"Shut up ya moron." Another voice hissed.  
  
Rogue looked utterly confused and felt even more out of place when she saw that everyone, even Remy seemed to know what was going on.  
  
Denny sighed and rolled her eyes.  
  
She looked to Remy who nodded with a grin and quietly made his way behind the cloth-covered table that the whispers were coming from.  
  
Rogue was about to ask him what the hell he was doing when he put a finger to his lips and hushed the girls.  
  
The other two watched in amusement as Remy lowered himself down to the hem of the cloth and quickly swiped it off.  
  
He made a loud "garrrrrrr." Sound as if he were a bear or a monster.  
  
Rogue heard two children scream and Remy snatched them from their hiding spot under the table and lifted them both up, swinging them around a few times high off the ground.  
  
He set them down and they both hugged him. One was a small boy who looked about five and the other was a girl who couldn't have been more then four. The boy was the one who had given their hiding place away.  
  
Rogue figured that out when he said "Mama Mama can we eat dinner with Remy tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, we wanna show him how good we can color now and I want Remy to color with us." The girl said brightly.  
  
Denny smiled and looked down at her son and daughter.  
  
"No Tommy, no Jesse, Remy's got a guest with him tonight.  
  
"Aw we know that." Tommy told her.  
  
"Yeah, we'd share the crayons with her too." Jesse added.  
  
Rogue couldn't help but laugh. They were so cute. And seeing Remy with them.it made her see him in a whole different light. How could this boy possibly have been one of Magneto's lackeys?  
  
"Come on you two. Go show your colorin skills ta papa." Renee said, pushing them through the kitchen door.  
  
"Will you be waitin on us chere?" Remy asked. He knew she wanted to eaves drop as much as possible.  
  
"Well now that you mention it." She stopped when the bell on the door rang and a group of teenage boys walked in and waited for someone to seat them.  
  
"On second thought Ah think Ah'll take a rain check. After all, ya'll should have some alone time." She said, grinning at the boys and walking over to them.  
  
"Hey there boys. Mah name's Renee and Ah'll be ya server for tonight." She told them and began to flirt. "Merde." Sense when did she turn int' a teenaga? Remy only be gone a few weeks!" He asked.  
  
That's all it took." Denny told him and showed them to their table.  
  
They each sat on one side of the booth and looked through the orders.  
  
"Ah'll send somebody ova ta take ya orders in a few minutes." Denny said before walking back into the kitchen.  
  
"Well that was.different." Rogue said, trying to express her surprise, happiness, and humor with one word.  
  
"Oui, dat it was." Remy said, smiling at her as she looked through the menu.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Kitty was standing there staring at the man for at least a minute.  
  
"Uhh.I um.I.you.you're." Kitty couldn't make out the words properly.  
  
"Yes. I am." Colossus answered. She didn't need to say what she wanted to say for him to understand what she was thinking.  
  
"Good day to you." He tried to think of a name but remembered none.  
  
"Kitty." She answered for him. "Kitty Pryde."  
  
"Yes, well.good day Kitty Pryde." He told her, turning to walk away.  
  
"Wait!" She called after him as he walked out the door.  
  
He stopped outside and turned to face her. 'Please don't make this harder then it already is Katja.' He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't of course. He'd never do anything to make her upset if he could help it.  
  
"I just wanted to like.you know.Thank you." She said, getting shyer with each word.  
  
He looked at her with curiosity and then decided on speaking.  
  
"For what?" He inquired.  
  
Kitty was puzzled. For the obvious of course. What did he mean for what?  
  
"For like, saving my life and all back at the beach." She reminded him.  
  
"Oh, right." He said, as if he had done the same thing everyday of his life.  
  
"Your welcome Kitty Pryde." He answered.  
  
"That's cute." She said.  
  
"What is?" He asked at her randomness.  
  
"You.I mean." She blushed at what she had just said accidentally.  
  
"I mean the way you said my name. It was different. People don't usually use my last name with my first.unless of course you count when I'm in trouble or someone is yelling at me." She explained.  
  
"Oh.sorry then." He apologized.  
  
"No." She laughed a little and smiled at him.  
  
"I mean it's a good kind of different." She told him.  
  
"I see." He said.  
  
"Hey um.I was gonna go get a drink at the Starbucks, do you maybe want to like go with me or something?" She asked, trying to sound casual but anyone could see it in her eyes that she was hoping he'd say yes.  
  
"Just you know, for a minute or something. I have to wait to catch the bus anyways and I just didn't want to wait outside while it was getting dark." She added hastily, trying to sound less desperate. It didn't work.  
  
He was about to say something when another person interrupted their conversation.  
  
"Excuse me miss, but is this your hat?" A man from inside the post office called to her.  
  
She walked up to him to get a look at the hat and realized that it was the blue cap Kurt had let her wear. "Oh like thanks sir." She said, taking the hat from him graciously.  
  
"No problem young lady." The old man told her. She was such a polite young girl. They needed more of them in the world.  
  
"Is there anyone with you? Its awfully late to be out here alone at your age." He asked.  
  
"Oh well I was just talking to someone while I was waiting for the bus." She answered.  
  
"Really? Who?" The man asked.  
  
"Right over." Kitty turned around and saw an empty street and sidewalk.  
  
"There?" She finished, wondering where the other mutant had gone.  
  
"Well it looks like he's not here now and I hate to tell you this but you just missed the last bus for the night." The man informed her.  
  
"Oh well then I'll just flag down a taxi." She said.  
  
She reached inside her pocket and not only found no ten dollar bill but a hole.  
  
"Oh great. A hole in my favorite pair of jeans and I loose Scott's ten dollars on top of that." She muttered to herself.  
  
"You need to use the phone inside miss?" The old man asked.  
  
"No, but thank you for offering." She told him.  
  
She really was polite. The last teens that had come into his office tried to hold him up.  
  
"My friends are watching a movie at the theatre a couple blocks away so I can just walk to their car."  
  
She said to the man.  
  
"See you, and thanks again for my hat." She told him, walking down the sidewalk.  
  
"Uh.young lady!" He called to her. She stopped as he walked up to her.  
  
He took the hat from her hands and put in on her head.  
  
Kitty looked at him as if he were insane.  
  
"Its best to wear something on your head.so your face is hidden by certain people." He told her.  
  
She just stared at him, bewildered.  
  
"Certain people that may not be ready to except things of the future." He explained, trying to get across his point subtly.  
  
"Oooh!" She finally understood what he was getting at. She looked at him curiously again. "You don't mind? I mean you're not scared or angry?" She asked, realizing that he knew what she was.  
  
"Now why would I be? You're a polite young lady and that's all I see. Now hurry along before it gets to dark." He said, winking at her and walking back to his office.  
  
"Wow! That was a definite change in pace." Kitty thought aloud as she started her long walk to the theatre and Scott's car.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Mails here!" Bobby shouted as everyone gathered around him, taking their own letters.  
  
Chloe sat with Logan still watching the game. She had gotten bored with her magazine and decided to try and understand the game of football sense she had nothing better to do. Unfortunately for Logan, he was the one who had to help her understand the sport, and it was in no way fun for him.  
  
"So Why can't that guy just run with the ball while he's got it in his hands? Everybody's just standing there while the one guy shouts out numbers." Chloe asked.  
  
"Its just a rule of the game." Logan answered.  
  
This had been the fifth question she'd had in the last three minutes.  
  
"Ouch! Are they allowed to do that? It looks like it hurt. Shouldn't someone bring out a stretcher or something?" She asked the older man.  
  
"Yes they are, yes it probably did, and no they shouldn't because he aint hurt that bad." Logan answered gruffly.  
  
He was trying to control his anger but she was annoying him during a football game and he'd just chugged down the only beer he brought back from the store to the mansion. He wasn't allowed to keep beer here with the kids but in this case he had the bottle with him at all times until he drank it, which was about three minutes after Chloe started asking questions.  
  
"Is that good?" Chloe asked as a man caught the ball in his hands.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Is your team winning?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because little girls keep asking them questions and distracting them from their game." He said, letting off his steam the most subtle way possible.  
  
"Oh." She answered quietly.  
  
There was silence for a few seconds and then.  
  
"So why don't they just have the kids moved away from the players if they're distracting them?" Chloe asked naively.  
  
Logan groaned as the commercials came on.  
  
"Do not change that channel. And threaten anyone who comes near that remote a weeks worth of extra danger room sessions." He said gruffly, walking down the hall.  
  
Chloe looked at her watch and looked down the hall where Logan had disappeared. She smiled with a mischievous look in her eyes and a somewhat evil smirk.  
  
"Is he getting annoyed yet?" Jubilee asked as her and Amara stuck their heads into the room.  
  
"Totally. He's about to burst. All I'm doing is asking questions about football. And he's getting so mad." She told the other two.  
  
"Yeah but it'll all be worth it once its seven thirty." Amara reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't know. I just don't feel right you know. Lying to Logan and all." Chloe admitted.  
  
"We're not lying." Tabby said, entering the room. "We're just making the chances better for us then against us." She told the others.  
  
"And besides do you think Badger would actually go for us going out to a party where there's gonna be college guys which means beer?" Tabby asked.  
  
They all nodded a no.  
  
"So all we have to do is wait for your friend to call and then we're outta here." The blonde told the others.  
  
"Yeah okay, but I still don't feel right about it." Jubilee complained.  
  
You steel the X-jet and take it for a joyride with the guys, yet you cant get the nerve to go out to one little party with the girls?" Tabbitha asked incredulously.  
  
"Its not that. Its just that." Jubilee stopped herself.  
  
"That she cant bare to be without her boyfriend Bobby." Amara finished.  
  
"Oh Bobby I love you so much!" Chloe said, trying to imitate Jubilee.  
  
"I love you too Jubes. I even made a giant heart out of ice to show you because that and telling lame jokes and pulling immature pranks are the only things I'm really good at." Amara said to Chloe in a lower voice, trying to show that she was being Bobby.  
  
The two girls bumped together and fell to the ground laughing so hard their sides started to hurt.  
  
"Very funny you two." Jubilee replied, scowling at the girls as she tried her best to make the blush leave from her face.  
  
"Why didn't you just say so girl? We can bring him along, as long as he acts like a human being.I mean.you know what I mean." Tabby said, remembering that they weren't actually classified as humans to begin with.  
  
"But then the other guys will want to come and when they're together they can't be trusted." Amara pointed out.  
  
"We'll just take Bobby next time then." Chloe said.  
  
"Guys the badger is on his way back." Tabby whispered.  
  
"Its Wolverine." The man yelled from down the hall.  
  
"Come on guys. We should go and make sure nobody is on the phone incase someone calls." Amara said, hinting the obvious.  
  
Logan just rolled his eyes at their peculiar behavior. He did not want, need, or intend on figuring out teenage girls.  
  
"Right, okay guys. See you later." Chloe said as Logan sat down and the cheerleaders started dancing around when the game came back on.  
  
"Yikes! Aren't there rules against moves like that?" Chloe asked. She was running out of questions but luckily for her Logan was running out of patience.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So what did ya order mon chere?" Remy asked as a young girl that resembled Renee at an older age took their menus and left for their drinks.  
  
"Lemme guess. Y' ordered de catfish an' de grits non?" Remy asked, but the whole way he said it made him sound like he was sure that's what she was ordering.  
  
"What, ya think just cause Ah'm from the South that Ah order Catfish and grits? Ya think ya know meh so well dontcha?" Rogue accused.  
  
"Oui."  
  
"Yer so full of it ya know that?"  
  
"Oui. So what did y' order den?" He asked, smiling at her.  
  
Rogue was silent for a moment.  
  
"None of yer business Swamp Rat." She retorted.  
  
"Knew it." Remy said cockily.  
  
"An' let Remy guess, ya ordered a diet root beer wit it." He guessed.  
  
"No." She shot back.  
  
"Really?" Remy asked curiously.  
  
"Root beer. Not Diet." She told him.  
  
He just grinned even more.  
  
"Ah think Ah'm startin ta see why ya like ta come here so much." Rogue said.  
  
The atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. They were sitting near the fire but far enough away so that they weren't too hot.  
  
Rogue had her left hand in her lap and her right hand on the table in front of her.  
  
Remy took her right hand in both of his and held it lovingly while talking to her.  
  
"Oui, Remy sees dis place as a home away from home, as do many of de otter people dat come out here. It ain' jus' de food dat be bringin people out here. It be de service an' de people dat work here an' treat ya like family." He explained, a smile growing on his face.  
  
Rogue flinched a bit as he touched her gloved hand but kept her hand where it was.  
  
"Ah see. So what did ya'll order then?" She asked.  
  
"De same." He said simply.  
  
"Remy! Remy! Look at what I made!" Jesse exclaimed, scurrying out of the kitchen, holding a piece of paper proudly in her hand. She went over to the booth that they were sitting at and climbed onto the seat with Remy.  
  
Remy looked toward Rogue in a somewhat apologetic way but she just smiled to let him know there was no harm done in the disruption.  
  
"Alright petite. Let's see what y' got here." He said, taking the picture from her and sitting her on his lap.  
  
"See! There's mama and Renee and Jordan and Tommy and Papa and me." She said, pointing at each of her drawings of the people. "And there's you with you cards." She told him. I'm sitting on your knee like in the picture we took a while ago." She explained.  
  
Remy smiled at her lovingly and patted her on the head.  
  
"Yo' a regula Vango Mon petite.  
  
"An' who be dis?" Remy asked, pointing to the drawing next to Remy.  
  
"That's her." Jesse said, pointing over at Rogue.  
  
"See there's your different colored hair and there's the pretty dress you're warring and your gloves." The little girl explained, showing the picture to Rogue.  
  
Rogue's smile widened.  
  
"And this is the title." She said, going back to talking to Remy.  
  
"My Famlee." He read aloud. The four year old still couldn't spell very well but he understood what it said.  
  
"Dis be de best picture Remy has ever seen." Remy told the little girl, winking at Rogue.  
  
Renee stopped on her way to the kitchen to get an order when she spotted Jesse with Remy. She rolled her eyes and smiled before walking over to the table.  
  
"Yeah. In fact why don't we go show papa and get it put up on the wall with ya otha pictures?" Renee said, taking the picture and picking up her little sister.  
  
"Okay." Jesse said, clinging onto her sister's neck.  
  
Renee gave Remy and Rogue an apologetic look mixed with amusement at the situation going on and headed back into the kitchen with the younger girl.  
  
"Sorry bout dat chere." Remy apologized.  
  
Rogue just laughed.  
  
"What be so funny?" He questioned, grabbing her hand once more.  
  
"Nothin. It's just that Ah see ya here with these people and then Ah think about thah first time Ah saw ya. They just don't fit togetha." She explained.  
  
"Oh, Remy sees what ya talkin' bout. Remy be different den Gambit." He explained.  
  
Rogue nodded her head in agreement.  
  
After a long, uncomfortable silence between the two it was Rogue who decided to speak up.  
  
"So.how is everything?" She asked, not really knowing how she wanted to say what she was thinking.  
  
"Come again belle?"  
  
"Ah mean with all that's been goin on with thah X-men, thah Acolytes and Chloe and all that. After ya got Chloe ya said things were pretty rough so Ah was just wonderin if they.ya know, were gettin' easier on ya." She explained. Rogue was trying to avoid mentioning the subject of his parent's death but this was a question she wanted to ask him and was hoping he'd answer.  
  
Remy was silent but only for a second of so.  
  
"It's been betta den b'fo. Now dat Remy aint workin' fo Mags an' all." He answered, staring into the glass of water that was given to him with the menus.  
  
"Oh." Rogue said simply.  
  
She didn't know why but she felt a little down at his answer. 'He said he was doin better. That was a good answer. So why did she feel like she was hoping for him to say something else.  
  
"Tings got a lot betta when Remy came t' de X-men.Specially sense you be dere chere." He told her in a quiet, husky voice.  
  
Rogue blushed as his breath tickled her ear. He was leaning over the table a little, as was she, so he was close to her head.  
  
Rogue didn't realize it at that moment, and when she did she'd never admit it but that was what she wanted the Cajun to say for his answer.  
  
"Ahem." Jordan, the girl who'd taken their orders before, was standing at the table, clearing her throat to let herself be known to the couple.  
  
Rogue realized at that point just how close she was to Remy and quickly jerked herself, and her hand away from him and leaned back into the cushion of the booth.  
  
Remy sighed in defeat and at Jordan's impeccable timing.  
  
"Oh don't mind me, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Jordan told them.  
  
"You weren't. Trust meh." Rogue assured her.  
  
"Oh, well then here's ya food. Eat up." She said, handing the two trays of catfish and grits to the couple.  
  
"Knew it." Remy said again with a cocky smile.  
  
"Aw just shut up and eat Swamp Rat." Rogue said, trying to avoid his eyes as she looked at her food.  
  
It smelled and tasted just like the food back in Mississippi did. The aroma of the spicy cuisine brought back a few memories of her past but they were diminished as she started eating.  
  
Jordan returned a minute later with their drinks.  
  
"Sorry bout the drinks. Ah forgot ta bring em out." She apologized.  
  
Rogue took the root beer and rank a few sips before continuing with her meal.  
  
Jordan turned around and was about to leave when Remy stopped drinking his beverage and called her back.  
  
"Hey! Remy ordered beer, not root beer." He told Jordan.  
  
"Its not root beer. She has the root beer. You, my Cajun friend, have a diet root beer." She corrected him playfully.  
  
"So where's mon beer?" Remy asked her.  
  
"In the fridge in the back." She said as he started to get up.  
  
"When your twenty-one." She finished.  
  
"Says who?" He asked.  
  
"Says Papa, that's who." She replied.  
  
"But Remy be nineteen. Only a few years younger den 21 an' y' let Remy have wine an' beer all de time." Remy reminded her.  
  
"Yeah but yer always alone when ya come and ya don't usually leave till late or morning when its worn off more." She explained.  
  
"Sides, its one thing ta chance gettin yer face messed up in a bike accident. Its anotha to chance ya girl gettin' beat up with ya and Mama doesn't want nuthin ta happen to this one so sorry mon ami, no boos fer you tonight." She said, changing her Southern accent to a Cajun one when using the French words.  
  
With that she smiled at him, put one of those silly straws in his cup and walked off.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Kitty walked casually around the block to get closer to the Cineplex. The wind blew her hair back but it was humid out all day so it was like a giant hair dryer was blowing in her face as she walked.  
  
She decided to take the short cut through the empty alleys so she'd be able to get there in time to catch Jean and Scott and to avoid any passer bys that didn't feel the same way about her kind as the old man at the post office did.  
  
She heard the smashing of glass, garbage cans being knocked over and car alarms going off somewhere near by. 'Why was the movie theatre in the bad part of Bayville's busy downtown area?' She asked herself in her head.  
  
She heard a group of men laughing and joking with slurred speech in a nearby alley. They had obviously been drinking that night.  
  
Kitty looked at her watch and was surprised to see that it was only 7: 30. 'How could they be drunk already? Its so early.' She thought to herself again.  
  
At that moment she didn't want to know. She heard the men approaching her and started walking at a much faster pace. She tried to act casual as if nothing was bothering her but she couldn't shake the eerie feelings she was getting.  
  
"This place just screams rape, hold up, and murder scene." She said aloud, crossing her arms over her chest tightly and speeding up her walking.  
  
'Maybe I should just risk the media and stick to the streets. At least there's more people out in the public there.' She mused.  
  
She was turned directions and headed toward the nearest opening to the streets. She was about to go down the last block to get to the theatre when another unexpected gust of warm wind blew into her face. The strong current of air blew her oversized hat off of her head and it danced in the wind behind her.  
  
"Hey! Come back here!" She called after it as if it would suddenly do as she told.  
  
Forgetting that she was heading in the wrong direction, Kitty ran after the runaway baseball cap as it toyed with her, occasionally touching the ground and getting picked up again by the wind when she was closer to it.  
  
She growled in frustration and raced faster after Kurt's baseball cap.  
  
When the wind finally resided the hat fell to the ground and Kitty was about to retrieve it when someone picked it up.  
  
"Hm.nice hat." The boy said, plucking it from the ground and dusting it off before putting it snuggly on his head.  
  
He was about seventeen as far as Kitty could tell. She thought he may have been in her Computer class once but she wasn't sure.  
  
"Hey! That's like mine." Kitty said, walking over to him.  
  
He took the hat off and examined it.  
  
"Oh it is, is it?" He asked, looking over the hat as if the material would give him an answer he needed.  
  
"Yes. Now if you don't mind I'll just be taking it and." The boy took a step back when she tried to grab the hat.  
  
"Actually I do mind. It looks better on me anyways." He said. His friends that were standing behind him all snickered.  
  
'Oh great. Just what I needed tonight.' Kitty thought, annoyed at the boy's immaturity.  
  
"Come on, just like give me that hat already!" She asked, a little pleadingly but mostly just sounding aggravated.  
  
"Hey, I know you." The boy said after looking her up and down for a minute.  
  
Kitty's eyes widened. "No.no you don't. You know someone who looks like me but you don't know me." She tried to assure him.  
  
"Yes I do. You were in my computer class last semester. You're the one who crashed three computers all at the same time on a weekly basis." He said, starting to recall her identity.  
  
"Well yeah but that was just because I was like trying to hack into the government files and.I mean yeah I guess I overdid it on the computer games." She said, trying to cover up what she had just blurted out.  
  
"Suuure. What ever you say kid." He said looking her up and down again.  
  
"What!?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest again. She was really uncomfortable the way he was looking at her like a hawk or something.  
  
"Nothing. I just thought I saw you from somewhere else but I can't remember." He told her.  
  
'Oh great, the one teenage boy that actually watches the news more then reading playboys and I run into him.' She thought bitterly, though it didn't matter weather or not he had watched the news.  
  
Everyone at school was talking about who Kitty and her friends really were. Or rather what they were. She'd better get the hat and make an exit before he remembered where he'd seen her before besides class.  
  
She tried to snatch the hat in that was now in his hand but he lifted his arm up over her head with ease, not having to stretch because she was so much shorter then he was already. He held it over her head and they all laughed at her feeble attempts to reach it.  
  
Needless to say Kitty was getting very fed up and if she didn't hurry up she'd be too late to catch a ride with Scott and be stuck in downtown Bayville at night.  
  
"Hey I remember where I saw you from now!" The boy announced, looking down at her as he stopped his laughing. Kitty finally caught the hat and snatched it from him.  
  
"Good for you. Now if you'll excuse me I like really need to get going." She said as casually as she could before turning and walking away from them.  
  
"Why? So you can go meet up with all your mutie friends and plan a conspiracy against human kind?" He asked harshly. His friends all stopped laughing and stood up straight, watching her suspiciously after what their friend had just accused her of.  
  
"What? Who me? A mutant?" She asked, trying to sound a little shocked and outraged that he'd even think of such a thing.  
  
While she was at school or with her friends then it was okay to admit that she was a mutant, but even though she felt bad about denying who she really was, she knew that it was best to deny then to get caught in a battle of four against one.  
  
"Yes you. Don't deny it. I knew I saw you before. You were on the news and in the papers." He recalled.  
  
"Okay I don't know what you guys are like on, but I can honestly tell you that I'm not who you say I am." She said, turning around to leave again.  
  
"Oh no? Well then catch this." He yelled as he picked up a garbage can lid and swung it at her like a Frisbee.  
  
She should have ducked, she could have ducked, and she probably would have ducked if her powers weren't phasing through things.  
  
Unfortunately, she instinctively phased through the lid and it went spinning into the store window behind them.  
  
When the boy accused her of being a mutant the people around them stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the teenagers. By now everyone on the street was watching, staring dumbfounded at what had just happened.  
  
"I knew it!" The Boy scowled.  
  
"Okay.look let's not like get too out of hand here. I mean yes I did just do what you saw but I really don't want this to turn into a.." The boy cut off kitty.  
  
"MUTIE!" He yelled pointing over at her as everyone ran, screamed, bumped into each other or just stayed and watched her, yelling things like "Get the Mutie. Take down the evil."  
  
".riot." Kitty finished what she was saying with a tone of annoyance, frustration, worry, and fear.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
~Ring Ring Ring~  
  
"Is somebody gonna get that?" Logan asked, looking over his shoulder, away from the football game.  
  
In a matter of seconds there was a group of girls crowding around the phone.  
  
Amara shushed them all and answered the phone calmly.  
  
"Hello, Xavier's institute for gifted youngsters. Amara speaking." The girl said formally. That was the way they were told to answer the phone whenever it rang.  
  
"Oh you must be Conner. Hold on. I'll go check." Amara said into the phone before gently placing it down on the table and walking over to Chloe. She'd made sure her voice carried enough for Logan and Chloe to hear her from the next room.  
  
"Chloe, Conner's on the phone." Amara told the girl on the couch.  
  
"Really? What does he want?" Chloe asked curiously.  
  
"Hold on. I'll go check." Amara said, running out of the room.  
  
Logan rolled his eyes. This was getting way past annoying.  
  
"Would you look at that? I haven't seen a play like that in all the years I've been announcer. I hope the people at home saw it because that was UNBELIEVABLE!" The announcer exclaimed on the television.  
  
"What!? What just happened? Who did what?" Logan asked, turning back to the screen quickly.  
  
"Um.the people in the blue shirts were tumbling over the people in the red shirts and the ball was in the air and..or was it the people in the red shirts were jumping on the people in the blue shirts and the ball was in somebody's hands? No I definitely think it was..um.." Chloe babbled on.  
  
Logan shook his head at what had just happened. He wasn't going to get a good answer from the girl who was asking him questions about the sport every other minute.  
  
"Forget it Kid." He said gruffly, turning his attention back to the game so he wouldn't miss anymore.  
  
Amara came back into the room and looked from Logan to Chloe. Logan was ignoring her presence, trying to salvage what was left of his game.  
  
"He wants to know if you want to hang out with him and his friends from school. They were going to go to the mall or something." Amara explained. "He also invited the rest of us to go too." She added.  
  
"I don't know. I mean it would be nice to get out of this house but I'd have to ask the adults and everything so maybe I should just pass on it." Chloe said.  
  
"You don't want to go out?" Amara asked, playing along with the girl on the couch.  
  
"Well I do but I'm just starting to like this whole football thing and there's another game coming on after this one and I was gonna watch it with Logan. That way I can ask all my questions about the game and he'd answer them." She said a little louder then her normal volume, making sure that even with his super hearing, Wolverine still heard her load and clear.  
  
Logan's eyes widened in what looked like fear but it wasn't a scared fear it was an 'oh god if she stays here through the next game my head is going to explode.' Fear. Either way he wasn't going to have that happen.  
  
Logan stood up from the TV, walked over to the phone in the other room, followed by Chloe and Amara, and picked it up.  
  
"You Conner?" He asked.  
  
The person on the other end must have answered a yes because Logan continued to talk.  
  
"Good, now listen up bub. Yer gonna pick up Chloe and all her little friends and take them out. No drugs, nothin illegal and if I find out you or one of your punk friends hurt or did anything the girls didn't want, I'll personally skin each and everyone of you." He told the boy. "Got it?" He asked gruffly. Amara and Chloe watched, hoping that Conner didn't get cold feet on them. Logan was less intimidating on the phone then in person but not by much. Conner must have said the right thing because Logan nodded in agreement.  
  
"You'll pick them up in ten minutes and drop them off at ten o'clock, got it bub?" Logan asked into the phone.  
  
"Well if I'm only staying out until ten then I might as well stay in and watch football with you Logan." Chloe interrupted them.  
  
"I know, we can make a game out of the questions I ask you. It'll be fun." She said enthusiastically.  
  
"Make that Eleven, but not a millisecond later." Logan said to Conner.  
  
Wolverine slammed the phone back down on the hook and all the girls looked at him hopefully even though they knew what the verdict was.  
  
"You've got ten minutes until he's here." He said in a low, gruff voice, trying to sound a little intimidating.  
  
The girls all squealed and cheered in joy and hugged Logan before running up the stairs to get ready which took away any macho-intimidation he might have still had at that point.  
  
Logan walked back to the couch and sat down, getting ready to watch the next game without any interruptions.  
  
Though he was totally unaware of it, in the process of getting rid of the teenage girls for the night he had also helped set them up on a date-like night of partying with older guys.  
  
He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, enjoying the relaxing silence.  
  
"Logan you're a Genius." He said to himself, closing his eyes and soaking up the peace until his next game.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rogue looked around thoughtfully after dinner, waiting for the check to come..  
  
'This really is a nice place.' She mused.  
  
"Well mon chere, how'd ya like dinner?" Remy asked, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.  
  
"Ah have ta admit Swamp Rat, Ah had a betta time then Ah thought Ah would." She confessed.  
  
"Bon, den yo' gonna love what Remy's got planned next fo' his chere." He told her, standing from his seat and straightening his apparel as she did the same.  
  
"Next? As in there's more ta come?" She asked, surprised.  
  
"Oui. Remy tol' ya he gonna take ya out fo' some fun an' all an' dat be jus' what he plans on doin." He said, taking her hand. They had already said goodbye to everyone and they were about to leave when Jordan came up to the table to clear it off.  
  
"What about the bill?" Rogue asked him.  
  
"No need fer that hun. This ones on the house seein as how Remy's brought a lady friend back with him." Jordan told her.  
  
"Remy told ya he's got it all taken care of." He assured Rogue but before he could leave Jordan tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Oui petite?" He asked. "Ya may be out of payin for the food but the service don't count." Jordan told him.  
  
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "And de service, dat would be you, non?" Remy guessed.  
  
"Ding Ding Ding! That is correct Mr. Le beau. Let's tell him what he's won folks." She said sarcastically in a game show host's voice.  
  
Remy laughed. "Remy gets de point." He said, reaching for his wallet.  
  
"Dese tips o' yo's are still goin toward de same ting as b'fo' non?" He asked.  
  
"Correct." She said, as he handed her a hundred dollar bill and a fifty.  
  
"She grinned at him and her blue eyes sparkled with happiness.  
  
"Thanks Remy." She said, giving him a big hug and saying goodbye before walking into the kitchen, counting that night's earnings.  
  
"That was an awful lot for a tip. What's it going to anyways?" Rogue asked curiously as they made their way out the door and toward his bike, hands intertwined again.  
  
"Oh dat? It be fo' Jordan's college fund." He answered, getting his helmet out.  
  
"College?" She asked.  
  
"Oui. She got a partial scholarship t' de first college workin' on undastandin de X-gene an' evolution of humans." He explained.  
  
Rogue stopped walking for a minute. "I didn't know there even was such a place. Shouldn't that be a bad thing? I mean if the people decide to use what they've learned against us." Rogue questioned.  
  
"Non chere, dis be only fo' de non anti-mutant scholars. It aint open to de public. Dey find you, you don' find dem." He replied.  
  
"So its like a secret or somethin? Like S.H.I.E.L.D? She asked, recalling Logan's friends from the past.  
  
"Oui. Sometin like dat. Dey only take dose who were recommended by people workin' dere or students dat show potential. Stuff like dat." He explained as he waited for her to get on the bike.  
  
"So like the whole secret agent thing?" She asked, feeling a little immature at her analogy.  
  
"I guess yo' could say dat. Now come on chere. We best be goin' if ya wanna get t' de otta part of Remy's surprise." He said, turning on the engine.  
  
She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and with a loud, powerful roar of the engine, they were gone.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
GAH!  
  
I so did not mean for this to be so long. There was a lot going on in this chapter I know, but don't worry, There's a part two to the chapter and it'll be up as soon as I finish it.  
  
I sort of left you all at a cliffhanger here with Kitty and the other girls are all going out partying. How did you guys feel about the partying idea? Just wondering. Incase you forgot, Conner was in one of the earlier chapters so he didn't just appear out of thin air.  
  
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do this so I'm gonna do it anyways.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own X-men: Evolution, Marvel does. And I don't know why people have disclaimers because not one of the people out there that write these fics do own X-men: Evolution, and if they are, then they should stop writing the fics and starts with the cartoons.  
  
Okay I do own the following characters. Chloe, The old guy at the post office, Conner, the boy that was picking on Kitty, and the people at the Diner that Remy and Rogue were at.  
  
Tell me what you think about this chapter okay? I really really hope I did it right but just to let you know I'm sick in bed and typing this on my laptop. That's why I'm posting it earlier then I would have and all.  
  
Thanks for everyone's reviews. You Guyz seriously Rock!!!  
  
Review this chapter please. Tell me what the second half needs and I might put it on. I've already got it planned out but there's always room for improvement. Trust me there is going to be Romyness in the next part of the chapter.  
  
Later days people! -AngieX 


	20. Love is in the Air Pt 2

CHAPTER 19  
  
Love is in the Air Part 2  
  
"Are we almost there Swamp Rat?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Patience chere. We be dere soon." Remy assured her.  
  
"Wanna have a lil fun?" He asked over the loud engine.  
  
"No." She answered firmly. His idea of fun was far from hers.  
  
"Too bad." He said, speeding up and doing a poppy-wheelie on the road.  
  
Rogue held onto him for dear life, wrapping herself around him as much as possible.  
  
"Yer insane ya know that?" She asked when the bike hit the pavement again.  
  
"Hmm.could be." He told her, grinning.  
  
Rogue just rolled her eyes and unconsciously rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Chloe, Amara, Jubilee and Tabby all came down the steps in their partying attire. Actually it was their partying attire covered up by jackets so Logan wouldn't stop them and make them change into something that didn't make them look older then they were.  
  
The sound of a car's horn could be heard with the front door opened and the girls said their quick goodbyes to Logan and the rest of the boys who were now watching the game.  
  
They made a mad dash for the front gates and were soon on their way to downtown Bayville.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Two men ran at Kitty from opposite directions. She panicked at first but got control of herself as she phased under the road three seconds before they got to her.  
  
Neither one of them had stopped in time because they weren't expecting it and they collided with each other.  
  
"Oh! That's gotta hurt." She said, cringing as they smashed into each other.  
  
The two men and the rest of the people who had stayed looked over at her and ran toward her.  
  
"Uh-oh. Gotta go." She said, phasing down again.  
  
She phased up again in a different place a few feet away but when she came back up she found herself surrounded by the men.  
  
They were getting angrier the more she used her powers and she'd had bad luck with them just now so she decided that for the moment she'd just have to run.  
  
She used her powers one last time to phase through the men to get on the outside of the circle and then ran like hell in a random direction.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"We here petite." Remy announced after the bike came to a stop.  
  
"Where is here?" Rogue asked, looking around at the land.  
  
They were up on a hill somewhere a little ways away from the city and there was nothing but rocks in front of them.  
  
"Theres nothin here." She remarked.  
  
"Dats cause y' aint be looking hard enough chere." He said, leading her around the rocks to see a beautiful view.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So where are we going again? Jubilee asked from the back seat.  
  
Just one of the night clubs in Bayville. Its called The Twister." Conner answered from the drivers seat.  
  
"The Twister? I've heard of that place, but I thought you had to be like twenty-one or something to get in there." Amara pointed out.  
  
"Nope. Just to drink, but my friend's dad owns the place and the bar tender knows not to give us any drinks so we're cool." He replied.  
  
"Alright. Now this is my kind of Friday night!" Tabby exclaimed, thinking about all the fun they were going to have.  
  
Chloe sat quietly in the front passenger's seat.  
  
"You okay?" He asked, as the other girls talked amongst themselves in the back.  
  
"Huh?" She asked, realizing someone was addressing her.  
  
"I said are you okay. Something's bothering you isnt it? You've been kind of out of it the whole ride over." Conner said, putting a hand on her knee.  
  
The car was pulled into a parking space but the motor was still running while he talked to them.  
  
"Yeah." She assured him, putting on a half-hearted smile. He didn't buy it but he thought that maybe after a night of fun she'd either feel better or be ready to talk about it.  
  
"Fine, but I'm not letting you get out of this so easily. We can talk later on." He told her.  
  
She nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt.  
  
"But for now, there's a dance floor that's calling my name!" She announced, the color and mischief returning to her face and eyes.  
  
"There's my girl." He said with a smile.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Kitty ran as fast as her legs would take her. She saw that the people were coming from both sides of the street she was on and all the stores had just now mysteriously closed after her little trash lid incident.  
  
The only thing she saw was right behind her. It was a tree like the ones in the park with the full branches.  
  
She climbed up into one of them, inching across one of the limbs to hide herself better. She heard the sound of shoes hitting the sidewalk around her and stopping.  
  
"Where'd she go?" The head boy asked the others, looking around for her.  
  
"I don't know. She probably did her little magic trick and split if she knew what was good for her." The other boy answered.  
  
"Yeah, well lets get outta here before she decides to come back with reinforcements." The head boy replied, turning to walk away.  
  
Suddenly Kitty lost her balance as she strained her ears to hear what they were saying and she fell from her seat on the limb.  
  
The boys stopped and looked over by the tree as leaves fell off of the limbs. They didn't see anything other then that.  
  
"Probably just a squirrel." One of them guessed.  
  
Kitty was hanging onto the limb with her hands and she was starting to slip. She held her breath so they wouldn't overhear her heavy breathing and shut her eyes tightly.  
  
'Leave. Just leave.' She thought, wishing that they would go away because her arms were starting to hurt and her hands were slipping. Pretty soon she would have to let go and fall to the ground.  
  
She would have been caught if she hadn't quickly pulled her legs up to the limb and kept them there. Her legs were starting to ache too. Not to mention the fact that even when she hung there in full height her feet were still dangling about six feet above the ground and she really didn't need to be hurt while running for her life.  
  
Suddenly the branch cracked loudly and Kitty noticed that it was breaking off of the tree because of the little added weight.  
  
"Yeah.but I wanna make sure." The head boy said.  
  
Kitty shut her eyes even tighter. She was getting more scared the closer he got. Just a few more steps and he'd be right under her.  
  
Kitty opened her eyes and noticed that he wasn't under her. She didn't know why because she couldn't see what was going on through the leaves.  
  
"What the hell?" The head boy asked.  
  
Kitty panicked. 'What was going on?'  
  
"It's a robot!" The other boy said.  
  
'Robot?' Kitty wondered. Blue demons and big foot sightings she could understand, but robots?  
  
Suddenly a horrifying thought it her hard. Sentinals! There must be a sentinal somewhere and they can see it from far away because its so far away.  
  
'Great. Just what I needed.' Kitty thought, exasperated and annoyed with her current situation.  
  
'Well at least its far away and not like right here.' Kitty thought thankfully.  
  
"Dude are you crazy? Don't touch it. Don't even get near it! Its probably one of those mutant bots from on the news." The older boy shouted.  
  
"Lets get outta here. That things way too close for comfort." The boy yelled.  
  
'So much for it being far away.' Kitty thought grumpily.  
  
She let out a soft whimper when she was sure that the boys were gone. Her hands were starting to hurt and she was sure that one of them had been cut by something sharp growing on the tree limb and on top of that it was going to break any minute.  
  
She couldn't hold on anymore. She'd have to fall to the ground and with her in so much pain she probably wouldn't be able to phase at first so running was going to have to work again.  
  
She shut her eyes once more and prepared for the inevidable, crying out when the branch broke off totally and she fell to the ground.  
  
She opened her eyes when she didn't feel the dirt or the hard ground and to her utter surprise she found herself in the arms of a tall boy who had shifted from his metallic form seconds before he had caught her with ease.  
  
"We really need to stop meeting like this." He told her with a very small smile on this face. It almost wasn't there but Kitty saw it, even if only for a second.  
  
She nodded, dumbfounded at what had just happened.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
The music boomed through the building and the lights flashed brightly in different colors and shapes, dancing around the room for cool effects. The lights weren't the only thing dancing though. The club was packed with teenagers and college students dancing, drinking, talking, and just having a good time.  
  
"Woo-hoo!" Tabby shouted, grabbing Amara and dragging her onto the dance floor.  
  
"Hey! Tabbitha wait! I can't dance!" Amara exclaimed, pulling herself back to the table where Jubilee sat.  
  
"Well then what's stopping you from learning right now?" The wild blonde asked over the loud music.  
  
"Uh.my cooridination? Or lack therefore of." Amara answered, trying to get herself out of this situation.  
  
"Oh come on! Its easy. Just let yourself go." Tabby said, demonstrating by moving around free spiritedly in the spot she stood in.  
  
"Umm.Thanks but I'll pass. I can't just let myself go. I don't think I know how." Amara told her friend, inching closer to the table she wanted to sit down at.  
  
"Oh come on Princess. Live a little." Tabby told her, dragging her back onto the dance floor.  
  
"Tabby! I told you not to call me that in public!" Amara exclaimed, looking around in paranoia.  
  
"Oh relax. Nobody thinks anything of it. People who hear just assume it's a nick name or something." Tabby assured her, yanking her onto the dance floor, the two of them disappearing into the maze of dancing adolescents and college students.  
  
"Jubilee sighed, drumming her fingers on the table cloth and looking around the room at the different people doing their different dances. She was bored and wasn't hiding it.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Remy what thah hell are ya talkin about?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Jus' look fo' yo'self petite. It be right behind dese rocks." He told her, grinning with the fact that he knew something that she didn't and she was hating him for it.  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes and walked around the rock with him at her heals.  
  
"Alright Swamp rat, what is it that ya wanted meh ta." Rogue trailed off when she saw what was in front of her. She gasped at the sight that her eyes were taking in.  
  
Dat be a good gasp or a bad one?" Remy asked in a way that showed that he was in no way worried that it was a bad gasp. He was so sure that she'd just love it that the confidence was dripping in his voice.  
  
Rogue was silent for a minute, taking in the scene.  
  
There, in front of her, the ground was covered in a heavy blanket of beautiful wild flowers, surrounded by fireflies that were lighting up like light switches turning on and off every few seconds.  
  
From where they were standing, the skies were a swirl of purple and midnight blue with stars scattered everywhere and a full moon beaming down on them. The only sounds were the songs of the crickets and the occasional frog's croak. Everything else was mute, even though Rogue knew that the highway couldn't have been very far away.  
  
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky and the air smelled of a natural fragrance that Rogue could remember from her childhood years of playing outside with the other children innocently in Mississippi.  
  
She had a feeling it had to do with the flowers and the scent of mother natures glory at night. Rogue breathed in the fresh air, closing her eyes gently as she did so.  
  
"Chere?" Remy asked when he got no answer. Not even a smart remark or a good comeback.  
  
She turned around and looked straight into his eyes calmly as if she were trying to figure him out. He gazed back into her eyes and let himself get lost in them for the moment.  
  
After a few seconds of silence he asked her again. "Chere?"  
  
She nodded her head at him, moving in from side to side with a small smile on her face.  
  
"What?" He asked. He clearly wasn't expecting this to happen.  
  
She laughed slightly, her mouth still closed when she did so and then she finally decided to speak.  
  
"Ya aint real." She said to him.  
  
"Las' time Remy checked he was pretty damn real." Remy assured her.  
  
"Naw. Ya can't be. Ya got this.this feelin about ya. Like ya want people ta think yer perfect. But yer not." She told him in a very calm way like she was explaining it to him and he had all the time and patience in the world to hear it.  
  
Remy looked at her, a little bit startled.  
  
This definitely wasn't what he was expecting of her. Was she shooting him down? Making him feel bad for being romantic? What the hell was going on here!?  
  
Rogue didn't wait for him to comment. She continued after the pause she'd made.  
  
"Yer cocky, annoyin, a little juvinile and on occasion insane, but yer not perfect. Ya neva will be." She told him with a straight face, not changing her tone in voice. She was smiling but just slightly.  
  
Remy couldn't believe what was going on. What was she getting at? Why was she telling him this? Why was she acting so calm when she talked? The last question was scaring him the most.  
  
"And that, Remy Le beau, is what Ah like about ya." She finished, making a bold move by taking her gloved hand with his.  
  
She waited for a response, not realizing that she was holding her breath. What would he think about what she had just said? What she had just told him. Had she let her guard down too quickly? Would he be freaked out and run away? Why wasn't he answering? All these questions, and many more, were filling up in Rogue's head the longer Remy was silent.  
  
He didn't say anything. Just thought about what she'd said. Really thought about it. What she had meant and most importantly what she had said about her liking him.  
  
She was saying that he didn't care who he was or where he came from. She liked it. She liked who he was. She liked how he acted.to an extent, and she liked how he didn't flinch away when she put on her mask and tried to scare him away.  
  
These thoughts were going through both Remy and Rogue's head for a while.  
  
Remy smiled and came back to reality. He snaked his arms around her waist and locked his hands together, pulling her into him, face to face.  
  
She was shocked by what he'd done and although she was nervous, it wasn't because of her power. It was because it was him who was doing it. She was blushing and feeling nervous just like Kitty and the others did. She was finally starting to act and feel like a normal..or somewhat normal teen did, and it was starting to scare her.  
  
To his delight she didn't pull away from him or tell him to "get lost" or anything like that. She just looked up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling with life and unexplainable emotion. She was still smiling, only a little bit more now.  
  
"Remy's glad chere. Remy's real glad." He told her, referring to what she'd just told him.  
  
He pulled her even closer and she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She felt like she could stay like that forever and watch the world go by without a single care. She knew that neither of them would have minded if they did.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Chloe was dancing and having such a good time it was like all her troubles went out the window. That's what happened when she danced. It was her favorite thing to do. It made her feel alive and free more then anything else could.  
  
She had just danced through six fast songs straight with Conner and she was about ready to drop from exhaustion. Finally a slow song came on and she smiled tiredly at him.  
  
He had been smiling and having a good time until he saw the look in her eyes.  
  
"Oh no. Nope, sorry. No way, now how. NO!" He told her, standing there with his arms crossed firmly.  
  
She looked into his eyes and pouted at him playfully.  
  
"No Chloe, I am NOT slow dancing. One, I don't know how. Two, I don't want people to be there when I do learn and three." He trailed off and looked at her.  
  
She still had the same puppy dog pout through his entire speech.  
  
He dropped his head in defeat and put up his hands.  
  
"Your evil." He murmered as she smiled at him when he caved and took his hands, bringing him a little closer to her and showing him where to put his hands when he was slow dancing.  
  
"I know." She answered playfully, and smiling at him.  
  
"See? Now this isnt so bad is it?" She asked him as he looked down at his feet every five seconds to make sure he wouldn't stumble.  
  
"Yes actually. It is. I'm doing something I've never done before, I keep tripping over my own feet so I don't step on yours, all the girls who aren't dancing are looking at me all weird because I'm dancing with you and I-"  
  
Conner's complaining came to an abrupt stop as Chloe rolled her eyes and closed the space between them, locking lips with him for a few seconds. It had been their first kiss.only it was more of her kissing him so he'd stop whining.  
  
She finally pulled away with a dazed look on her face but soon recovered.  
  
"Alright let's try this again." She told him.  
  
"See? Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" She repeated her question before.  
  
"Nope." He said, closing the space between them for the second time, pulling her closer while she wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Remy is not going to like this is he?" Amara asked Jubilee, already knowing the answer.  
  
She'd finally managed to slip away from the dance floor while Tabby wore out three guys at the same time dancing.  
  
"Nope." The other girl replied, sipping her soda at the table.  
  
"He's going to blame us because we were with her isn't he?" Amara asked, tilting her head at the couple making out on the dance floor.  
  
"Yep." Jubilee answered. They had both been staring at the two teens while saying this, not being discrete at all.  
  
"But honesty is the best policy and if Remy asks what happened we can't lie to him right?" The Princess asked.  
  
"Right." Jubilee answered.  
  
"So there's only one thing we can do right?" Amara inquired.  
  
"Right." Jubilee answered.  
  
"We avoid Remy for the rest of our lives.unless we can't and we run into him. Then we lie." Amara stated.  
  
"Exactly." Jubilee replied, taking another sip of her drink, sucking air into the straw when there was no more soda left in the glass.  
  
"Hey, what's up with you?" Amara asked her friend, looking away from the two lip locking teens on the dance floor.  
  
"Hm?" Jubilee asked, looking up from her drink. She had been idly poking her straw into the cup which now only had partially melted ice cubes.  
  
"You seem kind of.out of it." Amara answered, putting her hand to Jubilee's forehead.  
  
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked, concerned.  
  
"Yes I'm fine." Jubilee said, shrugging her friend's hand away.  
  
"You don't look fine. And your head feels warm. Maybe your coming down with something." Amara suggested.  
  
"Of course my head feels warm to you. Your Magma. Everything you touch is hot." Jubilee told her.  
  
"Sorry. Jeez!" Amara said, backing off.  
  
"So then what's the matter with you?" She asked.  
  
Jubilee was silent for a minute.  
  
"Nothing." She answered, avoiding her friend's eyes.  
  
Amara gave her a look that told her she didn't believe her.  
  
"Nothing?" She asked skeptically.  
  
"Nothing." Jubilee echoed. "Except." She trailed off.  
  
Amara waited for her to finish, not wanting to say something to interrupt the girl or make her stop talking.  
  
"I don't know. I just feel kind of weird. Lately I've been feeling awkward." Jubilee continued.  
  
"About what?" Amara asked.  
  
"Well.When I first came to the institute I sort of adapted to hanging around with the guys and eventually they started treating me like one of the guys.because that's how they saw me after a while you know?" Jubilee explained.  
  
Amara nodded in understanding and let her friend continue.  
  
"Well its just that at first I hung with the guys, but then I started hanging out with the girls like you and Tabby and Kitty and everyone too." She continued.  
  
"Well that's natural. You're a girl and you want to hang out with one of your own kind." Amara told her.  
  
"But that's not the problem." Jubilee said.  
  
"So what is the problem?" Amara asked.  
  
"Well okay, you see, you and Bobby are my best friends. You have been ever sense I came to Xavier's. But now." She trailed off, running her hand through her hair.  
  
"But now I don't know. Its like I feel different when I'm around Bobby then I do with you." Jubilee said, trying to explain how she felt.  
  
"Is that it!?" Amara asked, a little surprised.  
  
"Uh.yeah." Jubilee said, confused at her friend's remark.  
  
Amara started laughing, not giggling or snickering, she was out and out laughing.  
  
"What?" Jubilee asked, a little annoyed at how she was taking it.  
  
"That's it? I thought you were turning manic depressive or suicidal from all the Anti-mutant stuff going around. Something serious. Not." Amara couldn't finish her sentence. She was laughing to hard.  
  
"Well I'm glad to see someone is getting a good laugh out of my predicament." Jubilee said, scowling at her friend.  
  
Amara stopped laughing and looked up at her.  
  
"What's the problem?" Amara asked.  
  
Jubilee rolled her eyes. "I thought we've been through this already. The problem is that I think.I think I might have feelings for Bobby." Jubilee said, getting closer to the other girl so she wouldn't have to scream it over the music.  
  
"Well duh!" Amara remarked bluntly.  
  
"What do you mean Well duh! ?" Jubilee asked her friend, getting annoyed at her.  
  
"I mean that your so called problem isn't as bad as it seems, and your making it out to be like the end of the world. I mean everybody knows about you and Bobby liking each other." Amara said.  
  
"WHAT!? How does everyone know I like Bobby? They can't know!" She exclaimed.  
  
"And yet they do." Amara said, trying to keep the smirk off her face and be a good friend.  
  
"But they can't know. I didn't even know until just now!" Jubilee exclaimed.  
  
"Your kidding me right?" Tabby asked, walking over to the table.  
  
"You and Drake still haven't hooked up yet? What're you waiting for?" Tabby asked, gulping down her soda.  
  
"You know too? Does anyone not know I like Bobby?" Jubilee asked, burying her head in her crossed arms on the table.  
  
"Maybe Evan but that's only because he pays more attention to his skateboarding then life itself." Tabby answered.  
  
"It was a rhetorical question." Jubilee said, grumpily.  
  
Suddenly her head jerked up from her arms, causing her hair to flip back behind her.  
  
"Did you say Bobby liked me too!?" She asked, just now hearing that bit of the conversation.  
  
"Well duh!" Amara and Tabby said in unison.  
  
Jubilee's eyes widened.  
  
"Wow, you really didn't know did you? Man you guys are dense and niave for your age." Tabby said, going back onto the dance floor after replenishing herself with a soda.  
  
"So besides Evan, who doesn't know that Bobby and I like each other?" Jubilee asked Amara, who was trying even harder now not to laugh, seeing the smile that was tugging at Jubilee's face that came when she heard that her crush liked her.  
  
"Well." Amara thought about it for a moment. Even Logan knew that they liked each other.  
  
"Oh I know. There were two people who didn't know about you and Bobby liking each other." Amara stated.  
  
"Who?" Jubilee asked.  
  
"You and Bobby."  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So like I take it seeing how there aren't any Sentinels in sight that the robot those creeps were talking about was you?" She guessed.  
  
The boy nodded. "American teenagers will assume anything now a days. Too much of that HBO." Piotr said.  
  
Kitty giggled, but her laugh turned into a wince when he set her down and she leaned on her own two feet. Her ankle was hurting like hell and she had just now noticed it. It was like there were a million tiny daggers stabbing into her ankle all at once whenever she put pressure on it.  
  
She grabbed onto his arm when she felt the pain for the first time and he looked down at her to see what was going on.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, looking her over. She had scratches, cuts and bruises of all shapes and sizes on her body but she looked like she was holding up pretty well.  
  
"Its nothing. Its just that I think I might have accidentally twisted my ankle when I almost fell out of the tree." She said, trying to find a way she could let go of him without feeling pain beyond belief.  
  
"Is it bad?" he asked, concern filling his voice.  
  
"No, its nothing to worry about really. Its probably not even twisted. I probably just wasn't expecting the pain to come the first time I put my foot down so naturally it hurt a lot. I'm sure its better now." She assured him.  
  
"You're sure?" He questioned.  
  
"Totally." She confirmed..  
  
She was not fine, and she certainly wasn't totally fine. So why did she tell him she was? Probably because he'd saved her life more then once in the past week and she really didn't want him thinking she was some Lois Lane type who got stuck in dangerous situations just waiting for Superman to save her.  
  
Kitty wasn't like that at all. She'd been training and working on her self defense with the X-men and she didn't want him thinking that she was week and defenseless or anything, Wait! sense when did she care what they enemy thought of her?  
  
'Since the enemy became very hot and had a tendency to rescue me daily.'  
  
Kitty kicked herself for thinking that while he was there. He could have been a telapath too as far as she knew.  
  
"Alright." He said, letting go of her so she could lean on her own two feet.  
  
She let out a 'Yipe!' and fell to the ground, but he caught her before she hit the pavement.  
  
"Totally fine huh?" He questioned her skeptically.  
  
"Well.okay so maybe not totally fine." She admitted.  
  
"Come on, I will take you home. Your Proffessor is no doubt worried about where you are." He said, getting ready to lift her up again.  
  
"Wait! Um.can't you just like call somebody down here to get me or something? Like one of my teammates?" She asked.  
  
A look of hurt crossed his face but it disappeared just as quickly. Kitty saw it though.  
  
"N-not that I'm not grateful or anything because I like totally am. Its just.I don't usually have strangers who happen to be my guardian's enemy carrying me home. Plus if you get anywhere near the Institute Logan will probably like come out and spaz or something." She explained, trying to make him understand.  
  
His face softened a bit and she knew he'd gotten the point.  
  
"I understand." He said.  
  
She had called him her guardian's enemy. Not hers.  
  
"There she is! I told you the robot was one of them!"  
  
Kitty and Piotr turned to see who had come. There stood the boy from before with his friends and another group of older looking men.  
  
"On second thought, I don't think it would be too weird having you carry me.like soon." Kitty said, seeing them come closer.  
  
"You're really popular with the people around here aren't you?" Piotr asked sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah, I'm a regular Miss popularity." She told him sarcastically as well before he picked her up and headed down the path.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Hey guys, ready to go?" Chloe asked the two girls sitting at the table.  
  
"We're ready. Tabby on the other hand might put up a fight." Jubilee said, pointing to the blonde who was still dancing the night away with a group of boys.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and sighed. "Come on, let's go get her then." She said.  
  
The other two girls stood up and walked over to Tabbitha.  
  
"Time to leave Tabbitha." Amara told the girl.  
  
"Oh are you kidding me? I'm just getting warmed up over here." She shouted over the music.  
  
"You've been getting warmed up for the past three and a half hours. If we don't leave now we're gonna miss curfew." Jubilee told her.  
  
Tabby didn't hear her though. She'd gone back to dancing.  
  
The others looked at each other and nodded.  
  
They each took Tabby by the arm and pulled her off the dance floor.  
  
"Oh alright." She said, annoyed that her fun was over.  
  
"Don't go all Summers on me." She mumbled grumpily.  
  
"If we don't leave in the next thirty seconds we are so gonna be late." Jubilee told the others.  
  
"And then we are so gonna be grounded." Chloe added, walking out of the building and getting into Conner's car.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rogue pulled away from Remy's embrace after about a minute of taking in his loving warmth.  
  
"Aw chere, Why yo' go an' do dat?" He asked in mock pout.  
  
"Ah'll be right back Swamp Rat. Just gotta go do somethin. Don't move." She said, grabbing her backpack and walking around the rock to the other side where he couldn't see her.  
  
Remy looked in the spot that she'd just left from.  
  
'Dat was random.' He thought to himself. Then he realized that she probably had some business to take care of and there wasn't a restroom for miles.  
  
She came back about two minutes later. Remy was sitting down on a blanket that he'd taken from his bike when he brought her and laid out on the grass.  
  
"Okay, now Ah feel betta." She said, letting him know she was there again.  
  
"Dats Bon chere, but ya didn' really need ta tell Remy dat ya." Remy trailed off as he looked up and saw her. His eyebrow raised when he saw that she was now wearing casual looking clothes and her hair was only pulled up into a simple tress, her white bangs framing her face still.  
  
"What happened?" He asked, confused.  
  
"Ah went ta thah otha side of the rocks so Ah could change inta somethin more comfortable." She explained. "That's why Ah said that Ah felt much better. Ah always feel more at ease with clothes Ah like wearin then clothes Ah don't." She explained.  
  
"Oh." Remy answered, putting the pieces together so that they would make sense to him.  
  
It didn't matter what she was wearing. She'd manage to pull off looking hot in sweats so tight fitting jeans were just fine with him.  
  
"Wait a minute!" He exclaimed.  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
"Y' mean ta tell Remy dat y' were ova dere changin' dis whole time?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah." She answered.  
  
"An' ya didn' even tell Remy? He coulda been watchin!" Remy exclaimed, making himself sound like he was shocked at his bad luck.  
  
Rogue just rolled her eyes and walked over to the thick sheet on the ground, looking back and forth from Remy to the blanket a few times.  
  
"Take a seat petite." He said, patting on the space next to him on the blanket.  
  
"Ya know, the view is much better from up here." She told him, leanining against a tree.  
  
He smiled at how nervous and timid she looked. This wasn't something Rogue let show a lot. In fact it almost never happened.  
  
"It ain' gonna bite petite." He said, laughing.  
  
"Ah know that!" She shot back with a small scowl on her face. "Ah jus' don't feel like sittin down that's all." She said unconvincingly.  
  
"Right. Suit yo'self petite." He said, leaning back and stretching out on the blanket with his hands behind his head.  
  
"But yo' missin an amazin' view." He added, grinning up at her.  
  
"Ah can see just fine from here swamp rat." She assured him.  
  
He was up to something. She knew he was. She just didn't know what it was yet. Had she been to up front? She hadn't even expected to tell him that stuff. It was all true and she meant every word but should she have told him? She didn't want to move fast. Slow was good, but that's not how she'd sounded before.  
  
"Non ya can't. Y' gotta be right ova where Remy be ta see it." He told her, looking ahead.  
  
She sighed and gave in to her curiosity.  
  
"Alright, but there had better be somethin there." She told him, walking over to the blanket.  
  
Remy smiled more at her.  
  
She stood right in front of him and looked ahead to wear he was staring off before.  
  
"Ah still don't see anything. What's this amazin' view ya'll were braggin about?" She asked.  
  
Remy smirked at her mistcheviously.  
  
"What?" She asked, a little annoyed that she didn't know what was going on in that head of his. Though something told her she probably wouldn't have wanted to know anyways.  
  
Without saying a word, Remy swept his left leg under her, causing her to fall forward onto him.  
  
"What the hell was that for?" She asked. She'd landed on him with her body facing front and she caught herself with her hands on his chest. His smile had widened much more then a few seconds ago. She was blushing furiously and she tried to pull herself up but Remy hand encircled his arms around her waist and wasn't about to let her get up.  
  
"Y' know dat makeup y' got on shows y' blush more den de stuff ya usually do. Remy likes it." He said, not answering her question.  
  
"Well then maybe you and Kitty can have a slumber party and trade hair and makeup tips one night." She said sarcastically.  
  
"Remy be dere if you be dere chere." He said, winking at her.  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. She had walked right into that one.  
  
"So where's this amazin' sight ya told me about?" Rogue asked skeptically.  
  
"Remy be starin right at her chere." He said in a husky voice, staring at her.  
  
Rogue blushed even more this time and sighed.  
  
"Yer really corny, ya know that Swamp Rat?" She asked, trying to make it sound like a come back.  
  
"Oui, but as far as Remy can tell, it be a good ting when it comes ta de femmes." He said, smiling.  
  
Rogue had the scarf that was previously around her waist, tied around her wrist like a bracelet only with a veil.  
  
She relaxed her tense body a little and rolled over on him, laying down on the blanket as well.  
  
"Wow!" She said, looking up at the stars.  
  
"Its so beautiful." She gasped. The stars were all showing tonight because there were no clouds.  
  
"It sure is petite." He said, turning his head to look at her.  
  
After a few minutes she'd gotten into a sitting possition as she and Remy talked for a while about the things they both missed about the South.  
  
She yawned and her eye lids got heavy all of a sudden. She leaned back and rested her head on Remy's chest, the movement of his chest rising up and down as he was breathing was making her head move as well, but not noticibly to her.  
  
She closed her eyes and took in the warmth of his body around her and the spicy cologne smell he'd always carry.  
  
"This is nice." She said quietly and contently. Her eyes were still closed lightly.  
  
"Oui. Remy's toughts exactly." He told her, kissing the top of her head.  
  
"Too bad its gotta end though." She said softly.  
  
"Oui, dat be a shame." He agreed.  
  
"Hey what time is it anyways?" She asked, opening her eyes and cocking her head to look up at him. He was now leaning against the tree in a sitting position but she was still leaning against his chest.  
  
Remy stretched his arms in front of him and focused on the watch on his wrist.  
  
"It be 'bout eleven thirty." He told her, putting his arms back down around her covered waist.  
  
"Oh. Okay." She said tiredly.  
  
About three seconds later they both jerked up and looked at each other with wide eyes.  
  
"ELEVEN THIRTY!?" She shouted in disbelief.  
  
"Oui. We'd betta get goin now, non?" He said, picking up the blanket and shaking it out.  
  
"Yeah. Aw hell, there's no way we're gonna make it in time." She said, frustrated with their current dilemma.  
  
"Sure we can. Dat is if de belle femme don't got a problem wit Remy speedin' an' doin dose tricks o' his on his bike." He said with a grin.  
  
Rogue scowled at him. She really could have done without getting in a motercycle accident tonight but comparing it to Logan's curfew braking punishments it was probably less painful.  
  
"Fine, whateva. Let's just get the hell outta here and get home." She said, jumping onto the back of the bike.  
  
"Hold on den petite. Dis bike's gonna fly." He said, starting up the motor and driving down the beaten road at full speed.  
  
"Ah'm gonna die. There's no doubt in mah mind that Ah'm not gonna live past this." Rogue said to no one in particular.  
  
"Have a lil mo' faith in dis ol' Swamp Rat chere. He's got ya dis far hasn' he?" Remy asked, smiling as she held onto his waist tighter.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and drive. She told him, scowling at the back of his head.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Okees people. That was the end of Part two of this chapter. There are three parts in total and the third chapter is way shorter then the others.at least it was planned on being shorter. I didn't expect the other two parts to be this long though so we'll see.  
  
How'd you like Part two? Enough Romyness for ya? Hopefully you did because this was the big 'first date' chapter and I wanted everybody to like it.  
  
Tell me what you thought of this part okay? I don't want to review until I have at least five reviews but I know what's going to happen basically.  
  
I just want to know how you guys liked it and all. Especially the Chloe/Conner bit. Was it too much? Is it too little? I don't need any ideas for the last part of the chapter but I definitely would like to know how you liked it.  
  
I mean come on people! Nineteen pages of only a part of the chapter. I think I deserve a few reviews.  
  
So.yeah. Review now plz! Later days!  
  
-AngieX 


	21. Love is in the Air Pt 3

CHAPTER 19 (Pt. 3)  
  
Love is in the Air  
  
"NO NO NO NO NO!" Chloe said, banging her fist on the car.  
  
"I cannot believe the car broke down." She said in annoyance.  
  
"Mr. Logan is totally gonna freak on us if we're a minute late for curfew." Jubilee said.  
  
"I'm doing the best I can girls." Conner said from under the hood.  
  
"The problem should be fixed in a few minutes." He told them.  
  
"Great. Only we have exactly two minutes to get back to the institute and it takes five minutes to get from here to there with a fixed car let alone a broken down one." Amara stated.  
  
"Uh..guys." Jubilee piped up.  
  
"You don't think he'll get that mad at us do you?" Chloe asked Amara.  
  
"Guys?" Jubilee repeated.  
  
"No. He just wont ever let us go out past curfew again." Amara answered.  
  
"Great. Just great. And there isn't a payphone in sight for us to call from and tell him we're gonna be late." Chloe said.  
  
"Guys!" Jubilee echoed a little louder.  
  
"You know we could always telepathically get Xavier and tell him we're running late.' Amara suggested.  
  
"Guys!" Jubilee said even louder.  
  
"But he left for that conference with his old college friends tonight didn't he?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Guys." Jubilee tried again.  
  
"Yeah so we'll just have to walk home the rest of the mile and a half and take the wrath of Wolverine." Amara answered.  
  
"GUYS!" Jubilee shouted.  
  
"What?" The other two said in unison with an annoyed and stressed out tone.  
  
"I have my cell phone. Why can't I just call Logan at the institute and tell him what's going on?" Jubilee suggested.  
  
The other girls looked at each other.  
  
"Why didn't you say so before?" Amara asked.  
  
Jubilee rolled her eyes in exasperation.  
  
XXXXXXXXX  
  
"Ten minutes and we're not in Bayville yet." Rogue yelled over the roar.  
  
"Don' worry petite. We gon' make it. Jus' hold on ta Gambit." He yelled back.  
  
XXXXXXXXX  
  
"They've got two minutes. They'll never make it." Evan said as he and the other boys watched the door that Logan was sitting near.  
  
"Hey, Rogue knows what curfew means and she's not about to brake it because Gambit took her out for a ride." Scott said.  
  
"Vhat ever you say Scott." Kurt said, thinking that Evan was closer to the truth then Scott.  
  
"One minute." Bobby said, pointing at the watch on his wrist.  
  
XXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Where are we? This isn't the rode leading to the gates." Rogue said, looking around at her surroundings.  
  
"Oui, dat because it aint. We be near de woods in de back o' Xavier's property." He answered simply.  
  
"Remy we've only got a minute before Logan sends a search party out for us." She told him.  
  
"Hold dat tought chere." He said, cranking up the speed on the bike.  
  
"AHHHHHHH!" She screamed as they tore through the sky on the bike, just making it over the fence and skidding to a halt in the yard.  
  
XXXXXXXX  
  
"That's it. Its midnight and they're no here." Bobby announced.  
  
Jean came into the room with a knowing smile on her face.  
  
"What?" Bobby asked at her expression.  
  
"Nothing." She answered with a sly smile.  
  
"What?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Yeah. What do you know that we don't?" Evan asked.  
  
"They're gonna be in trouble when they get home right Mr. Logan?" Jamie asked, yawning.  
  
"Yeah kid. As soon as they get in the door." Logan growled, staring at the doorknob.  
  
"So why are you smiling?" Scott asked Jean.  
  
"Come on Jamie, why don't we leave the over protective little boys and get you to bed?" Jean said, leading the younger mutant up the stairs.  
  
It was now past midnight and he was used to going to bed earlier then that.  
  
"Hey, she didn't answer ze question." Kurt complained.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Remy are you insane? The longer we're out past curfew the worse the danger room session is going to be!" She exclaimed when he turned off his bike.  
  
"Remy knows dat mon chere, but he also knows dat we not be brakin any rules. De Wolverine said dat we gotta be back at de institute by midnight an' last time Remy checked, dese woods was part o' de institute." He said with a sly smile.  
  
"Oh Ah get it. Found a loophole." She mused.  
  
"Oui. Now come on. Remy wan's ta walk aroun' b'fo' we get non privacy an' de date be ova." He said, taking her hand and pulling her toward the house.  
  
She smiled and unconsciously put her head on his shoulder as they walked with hands intertwined.  
  
Remy had telepathically told Jean that they were safe and at home and that they would be outside on the grounds for a while so someone in the house knew that they were in fact home.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Hello? Sam? Put Mr. Logan on the phone." Jubilee said into the cell phone.  
  
"Mr. Logan? Hi its Jubilee." Jubilee stopped talking and held the phone away from her ear, wincing as the man yelled into the phone.  
  
"Yeah I know I know. I know it's a little past curfew but." She was interrupted by his yelling again.  
  
"Okay so it's a lot past curfew but we have a reason." She told him.  
  
"The reason? Oh its um.its because we were in the car and the car broke down and then Amara and Chloe started arguing about how much you were gonna punish us because we were late and we." Jubilee was stopped when Amara yanked the cell phone out of the other girl's hand.  
  
"Mr. Logan? Hi it's Amara. Yeah what happened was our car broke down a few miles away from the institute or something and we couldn't get in touch with you until now." Amara explained.  
  
".Oh no its okay. You don't have to pick us up. Conner just fixed what was wrong with the car and we're on our way home now." She explained.  
  
"Okay Mr. Logan. We'll be home in about fifteen minutes tops. Bye Mr. Logan. See you soon." Amara said, hanging up the phone and putting it in her purse.  
  
"I could have done that." Jubilee said.  
  
"Sure you could have. Let's just get home before we get into anymore trouble." Chloe said, getting into the car.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So chere, how'd ya like de date?" Remy asked, stopping and sitting on a bench in one of Orroro's many gardens and she sat down with him.  
  
"Ah have ta say Swamp rat, It wasn't too horrible." She said, smirking up at him and gazing into his red on black eyes.  
  
Remy smirked at her at how she was playing hard to get.  
  
"Oui, Remy was tinkin de same ting." He said, slipping an arm around her shoulder.  
  
Rogue hadn't noticed in and continued to look up into the star filled sky.  
  
"Look chere." Remy said, tugging at her sleeve and pointing over toward a part of the sky she hadn't been gazing up at.  
  
Rogue turned her head and found herself staring at a shooting star.  
  
"Wow." She breathed, taking in the wonder of the rare sighting.  
  
"Make a wish petite." He whispered into her ear.  
  
"She smiled and couldn't help but feel a little immature as she closed her eyes and made her wish.  
  
'Ah wish Ah could touch. Even if only for a second.' She thought to herself.  
  
"Done. Yer turn." She said.  
  
"Okay lemme tink." Remy said, putting his hand to his chin thoughtfully.  
  
Rogue laughed at his antics.  
  
"Just wish fer something already Swamp Rat." She said.  
  
"Alright Remy made de wish." He said as the star passed by them.  
  
"So what'd ya wish fo' petite?" He asked innocently.  
  
A look of sadness crossed Rogue's face and Remy inwardly slapped himself for bringing up the obvious subject of touch. Of course that was what she'd wish for.  
  
Rogue quickly turned her hurt features into a sly smirk and Remy turned to her in a little confusion.  
  
"If Ah told ya that then it wouldn't come true Cajun." She teased.  
  
Remy laughed and pulled her closer to him. She had just shook off the hurt and changed the bad situation into a humorous one.  
  
"What about you Cajun? You gonna tell meh what ya wished for?" She asked, not pulling away from him, but getting more comfortable in his warm embrace.  
  
"Oui chere. Remy wished dat at de end o' dis night." He paused and looked down at her innocent face.  
  
".Dat b'fo' de end o' dis night Remy gets a kiss from his chere." He said, grinning down at her.  
  
She paled for a second, not expecting for him to say that, and then she did something that neither Gambit or herself were expecting her to do.  
  
She tugged lightly at the thin scarf around her belt loop and leaned into him with the cloth, placing it over his mouth. She pressed her lips onto his through the material and closed her eyes.  
  
She sighed and stood up afterwards, waiting for him to follow in suit. He did so and stared down at her with curiosity and absolute shock at first.  
  
"Not dat Remy be complainin or nuttin but.where'd dat come from?" He asked, referring to her random bold act of kissing him.  
  
She looked up and into his enchanting red on black eyes before speaking. Their faces were inches apart.  
  
"Because." She said in a quiet voice almost like a whisper.  
  
"Ah figured that at least one of our wishes should come true." She said, giving him a small smile before walking back to the house and leaving him standing there dumbly.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Rogue zere you are!" Kurt yelled as she walked in through the side door.  
  
"Yer late kid." Logan growled. "Where's the Cajun?" He asked in a low voice.  
  
"First of all, Kurt, Ah'm glad ta see ya to but if ya don't let go of meh ya gonna end up in a coma." She said as he reluctantly released his tight gripping hug on her.  
  
"Secondly, Ah aint late Logan. And third, the Cajun's outside in the yard, probably putting away his bike." She said, on her way to walk out of the room.  
  
Logan stopped her by putting an arm in front of the door.  
  
"Look kid, I'm glad you're starting to have a little fun and act like a teenager should act but rules are rules. You're forty-five minutes past curfew and now you've got consequences." Logan said gruffly as the others stared at the two in shock.  
  
Rogue was standing up to Logan. Rogue was talking back to Logan. Rogue was telling Logan he was wrong. Rogue was gonna die and they weren't gonna be there when it happened incase they got caught in the crossfire.  
  
The boys were going to leave but Logan and Rogue were blocking their only way out of the room so they all just staid put and watched the scene before them unfold.  
  
"But Logan." Rogue tried to explain.  
  
"No Buts Stripes. Now I don't want to hear another word from you. Is that clear?" Logan asked a little bit louder then he'd meant to.  
  
"Crystal." She said, glaring with a clearly pissed off look on her face as she turned on her heal and strode past the other boys with her head up. She walked out the door and slammed the door loudly.  
  
The boys all winced at the loud slamming of the door and turned to Logan. Wolverine was about to say something when Remy walked into the room casually.  
  
They all stared at him with quizzical looks on their faces that soon turned to glares and scowls.  
  
"You got Rogue in trouble." Kurt yelled.  
  
"Remy stopped in mid-strode and his eyes widened.  
  
"What!? Whoa dere Crawla. All Remy did wit de fille was kiss her. We didn' do nutitn more. Specially not.How could we even?.we'd neva. We couldn't even if we wanted to." Remy stammered as Logan's growl got lower and fiercer.  
  
"You kissed her!?" Evan asked in shock.  
  
Remy stopped stammering and realized he'd let out a little too much information then needed.  
  
"Did Remy say dat? What he meant was.hold on dere home. Remy didn' get Rogue in trouble. Deres no way Remy'd get her knocked up." He exclaimed.  
  
"Gambit shut up. That's not what he meant when he" Scott hissed, nearing the red on black-eyed mutant.  
  
"Oh." Remy said, a sigh of pure relief escaping from him.  
  
"So what did ya mean den?" He asked.  
  
"He means that Rogue and you both got in trouble for being out past curfew." Logan explained.  
  
"What? But why? Remy an' de chere didn' break any rules o' stay out too late." Remy told him.  
  
"You were out late past curfew." Logan said.  
  
"Non mon ami. Remy tinks not." The Cajun argued.  
  
"Ooh bad choice man." Evan said.  
  
"Two students challenging Wolverine on the same night? They must have some kind of death wish or something." Bobby remarked.  
  
"Logan? There you are. Why is Rogue so upset with you?" Storm asked, walking into the room after Logan removed his arm.  
  
"Because she's mad that I punished her and the Cajun for breaking curfew." He growled.  
  
"They didn't break curfew. Remy told Jean telepathically that they were safely at home before twelve and to tell you or I so one of the adults knew. They were just staying outside away from the other kids." Orroro explained.  
  
Logan's face got a little paler for a minute.  
  
"I wonder why Rogue didn't tell you." Storm mused before walking back up the stairs.  
  
"Yeah. I wonder why." Bobby said sarcastically under his breath.  
  
"Probably because somebody wouldn't let her get a word in edge wise." Evan answered in the same quiet voice.  
  
"Do the words 'Super Hearing' ring a bell?" Logan asked in a growl.  
  
Bobby was actually about to say something when he was interrupted by Logan.  
  
"Not a word." Logan growled, not wanting to be lectured. "Not one freaking word."  
  
XXXXXXXX  
  
"Uhh.it's starting to rain harder." Kitty commented.  
  
"Yes. We should probably get to shelter before it starts to get too hard." Colossus said.  
  
"But where can we go?" The Valley girl asked in a worried tone.  
  
"That abandoned warehouse over there. We can hold up there until the rain subsides." Piotr said.  
  
He opened the door to the building, it was practically falling off the latch.  
  
The whole building was filled with empty crates, boxes, and broken down manufacturing machinery.  
  
"Its very..quaint." Kitty commented as he set her down on one of the crates.  
  
"Yes. I'm sure." Piotr commented as the rain began to pour even louder. It was now to the point where they could barely hear themselves talking over the pounding rain.  
  
"But it will have to do for now." He said as lightening struck somewhere near the building and thunder rumbled louder then ever before during the storm.  
  
XXXXXXXX  
  
"Finally, we're home. I thought we'd never get here." Jubilee exclaimed, taking off her seatbelt and rushing up the steps of the mansion with Amara and Tabby at her heals.  
  
"I'll be up in a few minutes okay." Chloe called to them.  
  
"Okay." They called back, swinging open the front doors and going inside.  
  
"So." Chloe said, as they sat alone in the car, trying to break the awkward silence.  
  
"So." Conner echoed.  
  
"I had fun tonight." She told him.  
  
"I'm glad. You certainly looked like you were having a good time." He replied.  
  
She laughed. "Yeah, I think I may have danced too much. I'm gonna be really soar tomorrow." She told him.  
  
"But it was worth it right?" He asked, putting an arm around her and pulling her into his arms.  
  
"Right." She confirmed, nestling her head into his chest.  
  
After about a minute they were making out in the front seat of his car.  
  
"Conner." Chloe said, pulling away from the kiss.  
  
"Yeah?" He asked, looking down at her.  
  
"There's something you should know." She told him.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah.well you see.my older brother.he's a little.how could I put this lightly? .over protective." She explained.  
  
"Well that's understanding. I mean you're his little sister. I'd be a little paranoid if I saw my kid sister making out with some guy in a car too." He said.  
  
"Your little sister is five." Chloe said with a little irritation in her voice. "Its hardly the same."  
  
"Yeah okay, but if she was your age I don't think I'd be letting her out of the house knowing she was going out with a guy two years older then her." He said, rubbing her arm soothingly.  
  
"Yeah I guess. I just wanted to warn you, ya know. Prepare you for the worst." She told him.  
  
He laughed and kissed her on the top of her head.  
  
"Chloe I've only known you for a few weeks and its like my life revolves around you, weather you or I like it or not." He told her.  
  
"That's so sweet." She said, resting her head on his chest again.  
  
"So are you." He remarked, pulling her into a long kiss once more.  
  
After another minute."Conner wait." She said, pulling away for the second time.  
  
"There's something else I need to tell you." She said, a little anticipation and anxiety in her voice, which he picked up and stopped kissing her.  
  
"I'm listening." He said.  
  
"Well.okay this is really hard for me to say and I don't know how I'm going to because I really like you and I think you really like me too but I don't think you know what your getting yourself into and you don't know who I am. I mean you know who I am but not what.or.erm.."  
  
"Chloe!" He exclaimed, putting a finger to her lips.  
  
"Try again.only this time less babbling and try not to forget to take breaths when you talk." He said with a grin.  
  
She took a deep breath and calmed herself, preparing for what she was about to say.  
  
"I don't really know how to say this.so I'm going to ask you a question." She explained.  
  
Conner nodded and waited for the question.  
  
"Conner." She paused with a deep sigh. "How do you feel about mutants?"  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
DUN DUN DUN!!!!  
  
Hehehe! I'm so evil. Cliffhangers are fun!  
  
This is it for chapter nineteen.  
  
Wow! I didn't expect for it to have three parts to it.  
  
Tell me how you liked it.  
  
Jus so you guys know, Conner is seventeen and Chloe is fifteen. I'm not sure if it already says it.  
  
You already read the chapter so now if you would, please review. 


	22. The meeting of the Boyfriend

CHAPTER 20 The meeting of the Boyfriend  
  
Kitty yawned. Her eyes were drooping and she wanted more then anything to sleep but Logan had always told her to be aware of her surroundings when she wasn't in a safe place and although Piotr had saved her from the rioters she still didn't feel as safe as she wanted so she needed to stay awake.  
  
They had been talking to each other about their powers to get their minds off of the rain and riots outside.  
  
"So you're saying that you can like just put on this metal shield thingy when ever you want and it protects you from attacks and makes you stronger?" She asked in amazement.  
  
"Technically it doesn't make me strong. I'm strong with and without the metal cover. It's part of my metabolism." He explained simply. He wasn't bragging or anything. Just stating a fact and Kitty understood that.  
  
"And you. Your powers are to.walk through walls?" He asked, a little confused at the simplicity of it.  
  
Kitty giggled at the way he said it.  
  
"Well that's like only one thing I can do. I can phase through pretty much everything and anyone.the hard part is being able to phasing other things and people with me and for a long time. Plus I tend to short circuit anything electronic when I phase through it. I've gone through like six alarm clocks in the past three months." She explained.  
  
"Oh, I see." He answered after her long explanation.  
  
A bolt of lightening and a loud crash of thunder came down on them and Kitty practically jumped out of her own skin. She did succeed in jumping up an inch and would have bumped her head on the metal bars above her if she had not phased through them.  
  
When she landed back on the ground, though she hadn't noticed, she was now only inches from where Piotr sat on the crate beside her. Before they were a few feet away on different corners of the large crate.  
  
"So do you not like getting wet?" He asked, a little amused at the blush that was coming onto her cheeks after she'd realized that she'd yelped fairly loud and was sure that he'd heard her.  
  
"No." She stated.  
  
"I actually love the rain and lightening and thunderstorms. Just not when they want to drown and electrocute me." She remarked with a small smile.  
  
He returned the smile and leaned back on the wall.  
  
She wasn't leaning back but they were still very close to each other. "Hm.and I always thought that Kitties hated the rain." He said, smiling.  
  
She smirked at him in the corner of her mouth and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh like how many times have I heard that one?" She said.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So are ya gon' go up an' apologize ta de femme?" Remy asked.  
  
Logan sighed in defeat. "I would but I really don't think she'd be too keen on the idea of talking to me." Logan answered.  
  
"I'll just let her cool off a little before I go up." He added as angry stomping could be heard from the ceiling where Rogue's room was above.  
  
"Probably fo' de best." Remy answered, grimacing as he heard the angry girl stomp across her room.  
  
"Hey, where's mon souer?" Remy asked the other boys in the room.  
  
"Oh, the girls all went out to a party or something and had car trouble so they called and said they'd be a little late." Logan answered.  
  
Remy showed a look of worry in his face that the older mutant picked up on.  
  
"Don't worry about it Cajun. They'll be home any minute." Wolverine assured him.  
  
As if on cue the three girls came bounding into the house.  
  
"Hey, We're home!" Tabby announced, walking into the room with Amara and Jubilee behind her.  
  
"Where's Chloe?" Remy asked, seeing that the door was closed behind them.  
  
"What ever you do don't let him know what Chloe's doing." Amara whispered to Jubilee.  
  
Gambit started walking toward the front door but was intercepted when Jubilee and Amara stepped in front of him and smiled nervously.  
  
Tabby casually walked over to Kurt and tugged at his shirt, whispering something into his ear.  
  
He nodded and looked from Tabby to Remy before porting out of the room.  
  
"She's outside." Amara answered.  
  
"Doing what?" Remy asked.  
  
"Uh.outside stuff." Jubilee replied.  
  
"Outside stuff?" He echoed, cocking his eyebrow skeptically.  
  
"Yeah." Amara said.  
  
"She be outside by herself den?" He asked. Something was going on and they weren't telling him what the something was so obviously it had to do with him.  
  
"Erm.no. Not exactly." Jubilee said, looking down at the ground.  
  
'Now we gettin somewhere.' He thought to himself.  
  
"So who she be wit den?" He asked.  
  
"Uhhh." Both the girls looked to each other for an answer but neither had one. Then Jubilee spoke up.  
  
"Well she's definitely not outside with her boyfriend making out on the front porch that's for sure." She said.  
  
All the boys in the room looked toward Gambit to see what his reaction to the information was. Tabby glared at Jubilee and Amara slapped her hand to her forehead.  
  
"Smooth Jubes. Very smooth." She said in a normal tone.  
  
"What?" Jubilee asked innocently.  
  
"Can I help it if I'm a sucky liar?" She asked.  
  
The girls just rolled their eyes at her and watched as Remy walked swiftly past the two girls and toward the front door. Everyone followed him but stayed a few feet back so they could see the scene that was about to happen but not be in it.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Kurt ported onto the front porch quickly and found Chloe and Conner standing in each other's arms making out. Luckily for the blue elf Tabby had warned him that Conner was there and he'd turned on his image inducer before hand.  
  
"Whoa! Dude, where'd you come from?" Conner asked as Kurt cleared his throat and the two jumped apart.  
  
"He teleported." Chloe answered.  
  
Kurt stared wide-eyed at the girl and looked toward the boy to see his reaction.  
  
"Oh okay." Conner said simply.  
  
Kurt looked at him in confusion.  
  
"Oh, I told him I was a mutant and he already knew you were because you guys were all over the news and all a while ago and everybody knows mutants live at Xavier's." Chloe told Night Crawler after seeing his confused face.  
  
"Oh." Kurt answered.  
  
"So why are you out here anyways? We were kind of in the middle of something." Chloe said to the boy.  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Ja, I know. I walked in on it." Kurt said.  
  
Chloe blushed but only for a second.  
  
"So why are you out here again?" She repeated.  
  
"Ach! I almost forgot!" Kurt exclaimed.  
  
The two teens looked at him in confusion but he didn't bother to clear things up for them.  
  
He pushed them a little further apart and took their hands and brought them together so Chloe and Conner were shaking hands.  
  
Conner and Chloe looked at him with even more confusion but didn't have a chance to ask him what the hell he was doing because after connecting their hands he ported away, leaving a cloud of sulfur in the air.  
  
Before either of the teens had a chance to move the front door swung open and Remy stepped out, looking not at all pleased.  
  
Chloe noticed that Remy's facial expression went quickly from anger to confusion to a softened calmness.  
  
Remy looked at the two teens. They were holding hands. He was shaking her hand and about to say goodnight at the door. He was getting all worked up for nothing.  
  
'Wait a minute.' He thought.  
  
"Yo' shakin hands?" He asked. When he was that age he wasn't shaking hands with his date when he walked her to her doorstep. He was making out with her. Of course he was always mature and advanced for his age when it came to girls.  
  
Chloe and Conner understood what Kurt had done and what Remy was thinking and both played along, shaking hands with each other.  
  
"Yeah, what else would we be doing?" Chloe asked, sounding a little too innocent.  
  
Remy raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. "Oh please Remy. Just because all your little girlfriend bimbos back in Louisiana decided to say goodnight to you with their tongue doesn't mean all girls do it." Chloe said to him.  
  
Conner noticed that she hadn't said that she wasn't doing it. Just that all girls didn't. This made him smirk and get a suspicious look from Remy.  
  
"An' who be dis?" Remy asked, taking a step toward Conner and looking him up and down as if he were inspecting a car to make sure it was in working condition.  
  
"This is Conner." Chloe answered.  
  
Conner held out his hand and shook Remy's. Remy shook back with a tight grip as if to show Conner that he was the stronger of the two and to scare him.  
  
Chloe noticed Remy's tight grip and nudged him in the ribs. He released Conner's hand and pulled back.  
  
"So how long ya been seein mon souer?" He asked, putting an over protective arm around Chloe.  
  
Chloe blushed in embarrassment and wanted to smack her brother over the head for acting all superior and macho but restrained herself.  
  
"We've only been on a few dates." Chloe answered before Conner could say anything.  
  
"And they weren't really even dates. The girls at the institute and his friends were always there so it was more like a..a gathering." She added quickly.  
  
Chloe knew that if she wanted to be able to go out with Conner again then she'd better do the answering of the questions for his own heath safety. She noticed that her brother hadn't been talking in third person sense he'd come outside and that alone showed that he was not enjoying this at all.  
  
Remy opened his mouth and was about to interrogate Conner when Chloe interrupted him.  
  
"Well it's really late and I know you're already past your curfew because of the car trouble we had so you'd better get going before your parents freak or something." Chloe said to Conner.  
  
"Huh? You know my curfew isn't until..Ouch!" Conner stopped when Chloe stepped on his foot slightly.  
  
"Oh yeah! Your right. Wouldn't want to worry my folks." He said, catching on to what she was getting at.  
  
"Well nice meeting you Rem.Mr. Le beau." Conner said, stopping himself before completing Remy's name. He thought better of it and decided that sense her older brother was acting the father figure then he'd probably be expecting the respect of one too.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow Chloe." Conner said, stopping himself from kissing Chloe goodnight.  
  
"Okay, goodnight." She said with a slightly dreamy look in her eyes.  
  
"Wipe dat look off ya face petite." He said, watching her as she watched Conner's car fade into the distance.  
  
"What look?" She asked, blinking back to reality.  
  
"Y' know what look Remy be talkin' bout. Remy made filles get dat look all de time." He told her.  
  
She rolled her eyes at how he was acting.  
  
"An' he didn' do it by shakin de fille's han's." He added, referring to her friendly handshake with Conner before hand.  
  
She blushed when she thought about the kiss and Remy averted her face for a minute.  
  
"So how old be dis boy?" He asked. His little sister was only fifteen and he had a feeling he wasn't the same age as her.  
  
She didn't answer at first, which made him even more sure about his guess.  
  
He was about to ask her something else about him when she walked over to the now closed door and put her hand on the knob. "Its really late and I'm kind of tired so I'm gonna go to bed." She said.  
  
She opened the door and when she did, the rest of the younger recruits all came tumbling out onto the porch.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes at how little privacy she was getting with Conner at the institute and walked past and over the sprawled teens.  
  
"I told you we should have tried listening at the window." Tabby said to the others.  
  
"Amara will you please get off of me?" Bobby asked in an annoyed tone.  
  
"That hurt." Amara complained, standing to her feet and brushing off her jeans.  
  
"Hey where's Jubilee?" Bobby asked.  
  
"You're sitting on me." She remarked.  
  
Bobby looked down and saw that he was in fact sitting on top of Jubilee.  
  
"Oops. Sorry Jubes." He apologized, taking her hand and pulling her up.  
  
She didn't let go of his hand at first when they were standing and he stared at her in confusion.  
  
"Something wrong?" He asked.  
  
"Huh?" He mumbled, coming out of her trance.  
  
"Oh, um..no. Thanks." She said, yanking her hand away and back at her side.  
  
Remy smirked at the scene in front of him as he walked inside after all the younger mutants were in the house again.  
  
"Hey Wolvie, don' worry bout goin up ta talk t' Roguey. Remy'll tell her yo' sorry fo' ya. He be headin up ta his room anyways." Remy told Wolverine who was sitting on the couch, reading the paper.  
  
"I'll tell her tomorrow too but suit yourself Cajun. Oh and by the way.."  
  
Remy turned to hear what Wolverine had to say.  
  
"I don't recommend calling her 'Roguey' to her face unless you have a death wish." He continued.  
  
"Oui, danks fo' de tip homme." Remy said before leaving the room.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"I wonder how long until somebody figures out where I am." She mused.  
  
"I am sure they are out looking for you right now." She assured her.  
  
"Psh, yeah right. In this weather? They'd have to go out in scuba gear and life boats." She said.  
  
"Besides, they probably don't even notice that I'm not there." She said quietly.  
  
"I find that hard to believe. You seem too much of a cheerful optimist to be unnoticed for this long of an amount of time." He said.  
  
"Uh.thanks I guess. But that's not really what I meant. Everybody is going to be thinking about Rogue and Remy's first date to be noticing that someone is missing from the group. Especially sense Logan isn't having his training session tonight." She said, a little angry at her pure dumb luck.  
  
"Remy and Rogue's first date?" He echoed.  
  
"Uh.yeah." She answered, realizing that she was talking to him and not just rambling on to herself like she'd thought for a moment.  
  
"That's interesting." Piotr mused.  
  
"What is?" Kitty asked curiously.  
  
"Oh nothing. Its just that my dear friend Gambit, though he may be a gentleman, went on ten dates a week when he was working for Magneto." He explained.  
  
"Oh. Well that doesn't sound so bad." Kitty answered.  
  
"They were with ten different women." He added.  
  
"Oh!" Kitty said, a bit shocked.  
  
"I just did not think that your friend was into that kind of guy." He said. "She seems to be fairly independent and not like most of the.erm.how could I say this? Airheads, that gambit is usually going out with." He answered.  
  
"Oh.well Rogue isn't actually into any kind of guy. You know, because of her powers and all." Kitty explained.  
  
"Yes of course. I can see how they would be a serious burden to her at times." He replied.  
  
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence that was broken by Kitty when she looked at her watch and went "Aw man!"  
  
Piotr looked over at her curiously. "What is it?" He asked.  
  
"Oh.um..nothing." She said, blushing. Obviously she had forgotten that she wasn't alone in the room.  
  
"You went "Aw man" for nothing?" He asked, raising his eyebrow skeptically.  
  
"No, it's just that.it's stupid really." She said, staring down at her hands that were in her lap.  
  
"You'll totally think I'm like being stupid or something." She added.  
  
"Try me." He said.  
  
"Okay.well its just that I was waiting for like two weeks for this one show to come on and I really wanted to watch this one episode because its like new and they don't repeat the new episodes." She said quickly before continuing to find a fascination with her hands.  
  
"Oh. And what show would that be?" He asked. He was trying to come up with something to talk about. Normally he didn't like talking to people or vise versa but with her it was like the more she talked the more she was there with him. It was really hard to explain and really annoying as well.  
  
"Oh you probably haven't heard of it. Its called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I know it's totally dumb that I'm upset about missing it." She said.  
  
"Isn't tonight's episode the one where they are supposed to tell us what's wrong with Spike and Giles comes back from England?" He asked.  
  
Her head lifted and her eyes widened a little in shock before she started laughing.  
  
"You watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" She asked in shock.  
  
"Yes. Why is that funny?" He asked.  
  
"Its not.it's just that, well you don't really seem like the type of person to be sitting down and watching BtVS." She said.  
  
"That was how I learned a good part of my English Vocabulary." He answered.  
  
Both Kitty's eyebrows rose this time in confusion.  
  
Piotr laughed at her reaction and explained.  
  
"When I first was recruited to work for Magneto I'd lived all my life in Russia and spoke very little English." He said.  
  
She nodded in understanding and he continued.  
  
"So between what I already knew and what Magneto had someone teach me, it wasn't much." She continued.  
  
She nodded again.  
  
"So one day John was watching a marathon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I was feeling sick so I ended up lying on the couch while he watched fifteen hours worth of Vampire slaying. After watching the show I picked up on some of the words and phrases and used them in my own conversations." He explained.  
  
"That's like so funny." She answered with a small laugh.  
  
"Yes, I suppose it is when you think about it." He answered.  
  
XXXXXXXXXX  
  
Remy reached Rogue and Kitty's room and knocked lightly incase either of them were in there and trying to sleep.  
  
There was no answer so he decided to peek in and make sure they were both okay. Of course that was what he was going to tell anyone if he got caught.  
  
He creaked the door open and stuck his head inside the room. The light from the hall poured into the room and onto the two beds against the wall.  
  
Remy smiled and saw that Kitty's bed was empty so she was still downstairs with the others and Rogue's bed had a small lump covered in blankets.  
  
'So she's asleep.' He thought, gliding over to her bed.  
  
He wanted a quick glance at her while she was asleep and curiosity had gotten the best of him so he gently lifted the edge of the blankets over her head.  
  
To his surprise it wasn't her head that he was pulling the covers off of. He flung off the blankets completely and smirked when he saw another blanket that was balled up to make it look like someone was sleeping in her bed.  
  
He wondered where it was that she had gone off to. He knew she wouldn't leave the grounds. Wolverine would pick up on it in a heartbeat. So she had to be somewhere on the property that wasn't too far from the house or her room. The question was, where?  
  
Remy looked around the room and noticed that the door to her Balcony was opened a crack. The air conditioning was on and other areas in Bayville were having huge thunderstorms so he walked over to the balcony to close it.  
  
He was about to close the doors and leave the room to find Rogue when he heard a creaking sound coming from the roof. At first he thought it might have been a burglar or the enemy but once again Logan's keen senses ruled out both.  
  
He then smiled and realized who it could be. He quietly opened the doors all the way and stepped out onto the balcony without making a sound. He stood still for a minute and he thought he heard the sound of music only it was muffled like it was far away and he couldn't make out the words.  
  
His smile turned into a huge grin when he heard a girl's soft humming along with the music every once in a while.  
  
Now he knew his guess was right. He closed the doors behind him and hoisted himself onto the roof with ease. He looked around on the roof until his eyes found what he was looking for.  
  
Rogue sat on the edge of the roof a few feet away from him, listening to music that was blasting at full power on her walkman. She dangled her feet over the edge of the roof and her eyes were closed so she was unaware of his presence.  
  
The Goth was now wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants and a semi-long shirt. She was wearing her socks but no shoes and her hair was pulled up into a simple ponytail with her white bangs still framing her face like they always did.  
  
Gambit glided over to the girl and when he was just inches away from her he put a hand on her shoulder. Rogue was startled by his move and jumped in surprise. She would have fallen if Gambit hadn't locked his arms around her small waist and held her like a life preserver.  
  
Remy knew she would be surprised when he touched her and that she would most likely jump and loose balance but that was the fun part because then he had an excuse to wrap his arms around her and hold onto her like he was doing now.  
  
She tensed up at his touch again but then relaxed her body and sighed when she saw who it was. She pulled the headphones off of her ears and rested them on her neck, turning her head back so she could face him slightly.  
  
"Why do Ah have the feelin ya did that on purpose?" She asked. It had been at least one minute sense she'd been safely on the solid roof and not falling off the edge and he still hadn't let go of her.  
  
"Don' know petite." He answered with a grin.  
  
"What're ya doin out here Swamp Rat?" She asked, a little annoyed at him for disturbing her in her time of venting.  
  
"Remy was gon' ask ya de same question chere. It be getting cold out here an' ya gon' catch sometin if ya don' be careful." He told her.  
  
"Ah'm not gonna get sick Cajun. A little cold didn't hurt anyone." She said.  
  
"Non, but Remy'd feel betta if ya weren' cold at all." He said, pulling her into him even more and letting her soak up his warmth.  
  
She got lost in the scent of Cajun spices and cigarettes for a minute before coming back to reality.  
  
"Ya gonna end up in a coma if ya not careful Cajun." She said, but she didn't pull away.  
  
"Fo' you mon chere, dat be a chance Remy be willin ta take." He said, covering her more and kissing her on the top of her head.  
  
"What am Ah gonna do with you Cajun?" She asked, laughing.  
  
She hadn't had to deal with boys the way she was having to deal with him ever sense her powers manifested. He wasn't like any boys she'd ever met before though. And that was what made things interestingly difficult for her.  
  
"Remy could tink of a few tings." He said into her ear suggestively.  
  
She would have smacked him playfully if the feeling of his breath in her ear hadn't left her with shivers going down her spine.  
  
"So why ya be up here chere?" He asked again.  
  
"This is mah sanctuary. Ah come here ta get away from things and people. Nobody else knows about it except the adults and Kitty but the adults just let meh be and Kitty's afraid ta come up here ta bother meh. And now you." Rogue explained.  
  
"So why are ya up here?" She asked him.  
  
Remy then remembered why he had come to her room in the first place.  
  
"Remy wanted ta make sure his chere was okay. He didn' like dat 'sheet unda de blankets' trick ya pulled." He told her.  
  
"What exactly were ya doin in mah room anyways?" She asked.  
  
"Oh Remy was jus' comin ta tell ya dat Wolvie says he be sorry an' dat we don' have de extra trainin in de mornin'." He explained.  
  
"Oh, what made him change his mind?" She asked.  
  
"Stormy came an' cleared everyting up. He was feelin real bad fo' yellin at ya chere." Remy told her, sitting down on the roof and pulling her down with him into his lap.  
  
She didn't seem to notice. She was just listening to his voice and hearing the quiet thunder from across town getting closer.  
  
Rogue yawned her eyelids drooped a little. She leaned back into the comfort of Remy's chest and closed her eyes.  
  
"Ya make a real good pillow ya know that?" She asked quietly, her eyes still closed.  
  
"Jus' fo' you petite." He whispered back, resting his chin on her head.  
  
"Hey Remy?" She asked after a while.  
  
"Oui chere?" he replied, looking down at her.  
  
"What time did ya come inta mah room?" She asked.  
  
Remy thought the question was strange but he answered it anyways.  
  
"Bout one thirty, why?" He replied.  
  
"Oh just wondering if you woke Kitty up or not cause if ya did she'll probably be grumpy all mornin'." Rogue replied, closing her eyes again.  
  
"Non, she wasn' in de room when Remy came in." he told her.  
  
"Oh." Rogue whispered.  
  
Suddenly Rogue's eyes shot open and she turned in his arms to face him.  
  
"Wait, are you sure you were in mah room at one thirty?" She asked.  
  
"Oui, why?" He noticed the worry in her eyes, plus his empathy did help.  
  
"Cause Logan sends everybody to their rooms at one thirty or earlier and Ah know Kitty. She's neva stayed up past one the entire time Ah've been livin with her." Rogue answered.  
  
"What y' gettin' at petite?" He asked, confused as to where this was going.  
  
"Remy, did you see Kitty at all when ya were downstairs?" She asked.  
  
"Non." He answered after thinking about it for a minute.  
  
"Me neither." Rogue answered in a serious tone.  
  
"Remy, Ah don't think Kitty came home last night." Rogue said with worry, standing to her feet and walking over to where her balcony was.  
  
"y' don' know dat fo' sure petite." Remy said.  
  
It was now two fifteen and Kitty still wasn't asleep.  
  
Rogue went toward her door and opened it.  
  
"Where ya goin chere?" Remy asked.  
  
"Ta go get Logan. Somethin aint right here and Kitty's missin." She said before walking out the door. Remy caught up to her and snaked his arm around her waist.  
  
"Ah don't have time fer ya flirtin games Cajun." She told him.  
  
"Remy knows petite. Dis aint be a game." He told her.  
  
"Then what is it?" She asked, still walking down the hall to her superior's room.  
  
'Why did the Prof have to be outta town for the weekend?' She asked herself.  
  
"Dis be comfort." He answered, walking along the halls with her.  
  
When they finally reached Logan's room Rogue was not in the mood for subtleties. She was too worried about her friend for that. She pounded on his door a few times before it swung open. Logan glared down at her and Remy. His hair was tousled from sleeping and he obviously did not appreciate being woken up.  
  
"He noticed Remy's arm around Rogue a little too close to her backside and growled at the Cajun who released his hold immediately and took a small step from Rogue.  
  
Rogue didn't care at this point. She needed to know where Kitty was.  
  
"What is it Stripes? And this better be good." He asked grumpily.  
  
"Logan, did Kitty come home last night?" She asked with worry and even a little fear in her voice.  
  
Logan's eyes widened after a moment of thought and he sniffed the air a few times. He sighed and straightened up.  
  
"No. Come on Stripes, let's go assemble the troops." He said in defeat. He was not going to be getting back to bed any time soon.  
  
XXXXXXXXXX  
  
Kitty began to rub her hands back and forth on her arms, crossing them and trying to keep herself warm as she shivered from the cold that was now getting to her.  
  
"Are you cold?" Piotr asked, pulling himself away from his thoughts when he saw what she was doing.  
  
"Yeah, like my goose bumps have goose bumps." She told him.  
  
She continued trying to keep warm and he went silent again. She was freezing for some reason and it was really getting to her.  
  
'So this is how the people on The Titanic felt.' She thought sourly. Suddenly she felt something heavy being draped over her shoulders.  
  
She looked at them and saw that she was now wearing an oversized jacket with wool on the inside so she was feeling warmer already.  
  
She looked over to Piotr who was not even looking at her. He was just staring into space, trying to collect his thoughts once more.  
  
She noticed that he was now only where a short-sleeve shirt that only magnified his muscles. He wasn't wearing a jacket any longer.  
  
She smiled in gratitude for the offer but declined.  
  
"Thanks but I can't take this. You'll freeze." She said, trying to hand him back the coat.  
  
"No, you keep it. You need it more then I do." He said, putting his hands up and not accepting his coat back.  
  
She sighed and stared at him for a minute.  
  
"But I can't. You shouldn't suffer because I chose not to bring a jacket with me into town." She argued.  
  
"Ah but you forget Katja. I have lived in Russia all my life. This weather is like Spring time climate for me." He explained with a small smile on his face from memories of home that vanished instantly and were replaced by a pang of sadness.  
  
Kitty noticed his melancholy features and decided not to say anything at first.  
  
There was another long silence and Kitty decided to break it yet again.  
  
"So Piotr why are you working for Magneto?" She asked.  
  
There was no answer.  
  
"Piotr?" She repeated.  
  
Still no answer.  
  
She turned her head and saw that the older mutant had nodded off and fallen asleep. She laughed and found herself staring at his sleeping form, so content and peaceful. You would never guess this same boy was known for crashing through brick walls with his head.  
  
Soon though, Kitty was lost in the sound of rain hitting the rooftop and without the conversation to keep her thoughts elsewhere she was lulled to sleep by the rain.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Done with this chapter.  
  
How'd you guys like it?  
  
I hope you did because I worked hard on this thing. It took me like forever to write.  
  
Review and tell me how it was please. I'm not updating until I have enough reviews and plus I need them for inspiration and all that.  
  
You know the drill. You've already read, so now review plz!!!!  
  
Later days  
  
-AngieX! 


	23. A Little Lost Kitty

Okay people, here's yet another chapter of this story. I hope you guyz aren't getting tired of it are you? Don't worry, I have an actual Plot and idea as to what will happen. I know the basic outline of the story so I wont just leave you guyz hanging or anything.  
  
Not a lot of Romyness or anything in this chapter. Sorry guyz. But don't worry, you know I can't go very long without writing them doin the Romy thing.  
  
Review replies  
  
Da Smurf- I honestly don't know but your right, there really does need to be more guys like the ones in fics in real life. I think every girl deserves a demon-eyed Cajun or a tall, strong, sentimental Russian of her own at least once in her life.  
  
Fallen_angel99- I'm an angel? Cool! Can I fly? :P Thanx for the review and yeah I share your feelings toward Buffy, Angel, and Spike. Spikes coming on Angel on October 1rst! YAY! Thanx for the review.  
  
Ishandahalf- Yes more Romyness to come. I second that Drool for spike. Lol, hope you like this chapter  
  
Lissa- sent you an e-mail. Hope you got it. Thanx for reviewing.  
  
Pammy- Carol Danvers never even crossed my mind to have in this fic so you don't have anything to worry about I'm pretty sure.  
  
Caliente- Yeah I think I may put Kitty telling Rogue about Remy's 'Womanizing ways' as you put it. Possibly in the next chapter. I don't know.  
  
..And now for our feature presentation..  
  
CHAPTER 21 A Little Lost Kitten.  
  
"Kitty!" Jean called out near the school, earning her a few curious looks from the passerby's that were actually up at six in the morning on a Sunday.  
  
Unfortunately after calling the girl's name at least twenty times all around the campus she still got no answer and went back to the mansion Kitty-less.  
  
XXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Kitty?" Chloe called.  
  
"Kitty?" Tabby echoed.  
  
"Kitty?" Amara and Rahne shouted simultaneously.  
  
They were down town at the local area where the teens liked to hang out and the four girls were spread out in search of their missing friend.  
  
"She's not here. Let's get back to Logan so he can tell us where else to look." Tabby said, admitting defeat when none of the other girls were ready to yet. She was right though. The sooner they got back, the sooner they'd be looking somewhere else.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Kitty? Are you here?" Jubilee called. She was standing in the middle of the park looking around anxiously.  
  
A bush rustled behind her and Jubilee whirled around in high hopes.  
  
"Kitty?" She called out hopefully.  
  
Bobby stepped out of the bush with a defeated look in his eyes.  
  
Jubilee saddened and her hope drifted away as fast as it come when she saw that it was Bobby behind the bush and not Kitty.  
  
"So I take it you didn't find her either huh?" He asked.  
  
She nodded a no. She was really worried about her friend and Bobby noticed.  
  
He took her hand in his and squeezed it comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay Jubes. We're the X-men, there isn't anything we can't do." Bobby said with a half-hearted reassuring smile on his face, trying to cheer her up.  
  
"Yeah, I guess.its just that I'm worried because of the Anti-mutant riot that broke out last night near the post office. That's where she was Bobby. I bet she would have been home sooner if we hadn't given her all that mail." Jubilee said, mumbling the last part.  
  
"Hey, it's not your fault okay. Things like this just happen and we have to work through them together." He said, intertwining her fingers with his.  
  
He was a jokester and a little immature but when it came to the serious stuff he could actually be pretty comforting. Especially when one of his friends was missing and the other was depressed about it. He was there for Jubilee as a friend should be.  
  
"Yeah. You're right Bobby. Let's get back to the Institute and break the news that we didn't find her." She said, walking with her friend out of the park.  
  
"I wonder if anyone else is having better luck then us." Bobby mused.  
  
"I sure hope so." Jubilee answered before they both went quiet.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Hello? Lance zis is Night Crawler...NO Vait! Don't hang up! Keety is missing and ve vanted to know if you've seen her lately." Kurt said quickly before the earth shaker had a chance to hang up the phone.  
  
"Hold on, lemme go ask the others." Lance said into the phone with a rather irritated sigh.  
  
Kitty had made it perfectly clear to him that she wanted nothing to do with him sense the little trick Mystique had pulled over on the X-men and the Sentinels attacking so he didn't know where she was but his guilty conscience got the best of him and he decided to check with the others.  
  
Kurt waited impatiently on the phone for Lance to return. The blue mutant's tail was darting around at super speed as he waited.  
  
"Sorry, but none of us have seen her." Lance said, he actually did sound like he'd meant it.  
  
Out of the brotherhood, Lance had been the one least horrible out of the rest at most times. He'd also been the only one, save Tabby, to try and join the X-men.  
  
Kurt sighed into the phone as his hope of finding his lost teammate lessened.  
  
"Zanks anyway Lance." Kurt mumbled, placing the phone back on the hook before Lance could reply.  
  
He lowered his head and Bamfed into the rec room after running out of people to call that might know where Kitty was.  
  
XXXXXXXX  
  
"Well Professor?" Scott asked hopefully.  
  
Xavier lifted the helmet to Cerebro off his head and sighed, shaking his head with a no.  
  
"I sensed her powers downtown but it was from last night and she hasn't used her powers since. Logan is already looking around where her powers were used but we've already searched that entire area. I don't think she's there." Xavier answered, putting his hands together like a puzzle and rested his chin on them in thought.  
  
"So there isn't anything else we can do? I mean I've already gone to the places Logan told me to go to and Kurt, Evan and I went to the train station earlier." Scott said, pacing back and fourth in the room.  
  
"Any news professor?" Storm asked, walking into the room as the doors swooshed shut behind her automatically.  
  
"No, not yet. Have the students gotten any word?" He asked.  
  
Orroro shook her head. No, I'm afraid they've all come home with no leads as to wear Kitty may be." Orroro said to the older man.  
  
"I don't understand why Logan hasn't picked up on her scent yet. I mean he did it with Jean when Blob took her." Scott spoke up.  
  
"Yes Scott I know. Logan has already tried doing that but he's informed me that her scent was too old and it was fading by the time he'd gotten to the post office but it ended outside the building. All the rain yesterday must have washed away her scent." Xavier explained.  
  
Storm looked down, a little upset with herself.  
  
"You did not know Kitty was out there Storm or I'm sure you would have stopped the rain. Don't blame any of this on yourself." Xavier said, picking up on the burdening thoughts that were practically screaming in her head.  
  
She was like an aunt or a mother-like figure to all of the students and now, like any mother, she was worried sick about Kitty and blaming herself for her absence.  
  
"Yeah Storm. If it was anyone's fault it was mine. I should have made sure she was home when Jean and I got back from the movies." Scott said, leaning over on the desk, angry with himself for putting one of his comrades in possible danger.  
  
"That's not true either. Both of you, none of this is your fault, and it won't matter soon because we're going to get Kitty back." Jean said, stepping into the room.  
  
She had walked in when Storm was torturing herself over Kitty being lost and now she couldn't take seeing her teammates and guardians like this.  
  
Xavier smiled at her slightly, glad that he wasn't the only one trying to look for the good in all of this. He'd hoped that at least one of the students would keep a steady head during all of this but the longer Kitty was missing, the less levelheaded the teens all became.  
  
"Just about everyone is back and waiting for you to tell them what to do now Professor." Jean told the older man who wheeled over to the door she was in front of.  
  
"Thank you Jean." He said, rolling out of the room and down the hall.  
  
Storm left after Xavier and Scott just stood there, staring into space.  
  
"Scott, it's going to be okay. We'll find her, we'll fix the problem and before you know it she'll be blaring Pop-songs and filling our ears with 'likes' and 'totally's' before you know it." Jean said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
His face softened at her soothing and reassuring words and he placed his hand over hers, turning around and walking out of the room with her.  
  
"So is Logan not back yet?" He asked as they walked down the halls.  
  
"No, Logan's down there with the group." Jean answered.  
  
"So then who isn't here yet?" Scott questioned.  
  
"Oh, Rogue and Gambit." Jean said, walking down the stairs.  
  
She stopped and gave Scott a 'don't even think that' look with her hands on her hips.  
  
"What!?" He asked innocently. She couldn't see them but she knew his eyes would have been giving away that he knew what she had stopped for.  
  
"Don't give me that Scott Summers. You know perfectly well what. You think Rogue and Gambit aren't back yet because they're out somewhere kissing through scarves or something." She said.  
  
His face reddened a little when he knew she'd figured him out.  
  
"Its not that I don't think they're looking or anything. It's just that.well the others are all back from their assignments and its not like Rogue to be behind when it came to missions." Scott answered.  
  
"Sure Scott. You know Rogue is a big girl. She can take care of herself." Jean said.  
  
"I know, I know. But if he ever hurts her I'll.." Jean cut him off.  
  
"Trust me, if he ever hurts her you'll probably have to wait in a three hour waiting line to get your turn doing something to him." Jean answered with a small smile on her face.  
  
"Yeah I guess your right." He answered, kissing her on her cheek.  
  
"Of course I'm right. You thought otherwise?" She asked playfully.  
  
"Come on, we're holding up the meeting." She said, taking his hand again and pulling him down the stairs quickly.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Kitty?" Rogue called through the empty streets of downtown Bayville. It was the area where everything was jumping and alive during the night with all the teens partying and having fun, but like a ghost town during the daytime.  
  
Gambit and Rogue had been looking for her for an hour now and her throat was starting to hurt from calling her roommate's name so many times.  
  
"Remy don' tink de fille be here chere." Remy said, walking up behind her after checking inside the buildings for Kitty.  
  
"She has ta be. She aint anywhere else, and if she's not here and she's not anywhere else then that means that she could be..could be..." Remy silenced her by putting his gloved index finger on her lips.  
  
"Don' tink like dat petite." He told her.  
  
"But what if she's..she could be."  
  
"Somewhere we haven' looked yet." Remy finished for her, knowing that wasn't what she was going to say.  
  
Rogue nodded her head, pulling herself together.  
  
She didn't need to be all hysterical and falling apart when her friend needed her. Not to mention that Remy was there to see her and there was no way she'd show him any signs of weakness.  
  
"Right." She said, blinking away a tear that had somehow gotten past the well guarded emotions of Rogue and snuck out of her eye. She caught it before it slipped out and blinked it away.  
  
"Now all dis could be a whole lot easier if we had a lead o' two non?" Gambit said, embracing her in a comforting hug.  
  
She was grateful that he wasn't being the total flirt she'd come to know at the moment. He knew she was upset and that flirting with her right now would be inappropriate. So he just stood there, holding her in his arms, stroking her hair while she rested her head in his chest.  
  
"Now are ya ready ta keep goin mon chere?" He asked, pulling her away from his body so they were face to face with his hands on her shoulders.  
  
She nodded and gave him a very small smile. He knew she needed that minute of peace and comfort, of him holding her and telling her it would all be okay and now she was ready to move on.  
  
That's one of the things she really liked about him. He always understood in a certain way that others hadn't. He'd understood, and cared, and stuck by her even when she'd pushed him away, and for that she was grateful.  
  
She nodded a yes and he took her hand, intertwining their fingers together as they walked past a few alleys on their way back to the Institute.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"PYRO!" Magneto shouted through the metal halls.  
  
John winced and scrunched up his face. He was only a few inches away from the door, his hand on the knob even, but he hadn't made it out.  
  
"Yeah Mags?" He asked, straightening as his leader came into the room.  
  
"Where is Colossus?" Magneto boomed.  
  
"Colossus? Oh right, right. Well ya see mate, the thing is, and your gonna find this funny, that Piotr..well he didn't exactly come home last night." John said quickly, stepping as far away from the chest of metal weapons as he possibly could without drawing attention to himself.  
  
"HE WHAT!?" Magneto shouted.  
  
"Hehe, okay so maybe you're not gonna find this funny." Pyro answered with a scared and nervous laugh.  
  
"Where is he Pyro? Where is Colossus?" Magneto asked again.  
  
"Well he was mailin a letter back home cause you said he could, remember?" Pyro answered, gulping loudly at the end.  
  
"Yes, but it doesn't take all night and morning to mail a letter." Magneto exclaimed.  
  
"Well maybe the bloke ran into a bit of trouble when the mutant riots broke out." Pyro suggested.  
  
"I highly doubt I would have missed seeing a seven foot boy in armor on the news." Magneto said.  
  
There was silence for about a minute while John wanted more then ever to take out his lighter and snap it open and shut. He did that when he was nervous. He also did it when he was bored or happy or angry or depressed or..actually he did it all the time, but he knew that now was not one of those times. Not while Magneto's head was about to explode from aggravation.  
  
The silence was shattered when Magneto and John caught each other's eyes.  
  
"Well!? What are you waiting for? Go out and find him!" Magneto shouted.  
  
"Right. Good idea mate. I'll be out there while you stay here and.not be out there." John said, hinting very lightly that he wanted to be as far from magneto at the moment as physically possible and for that to happen Magneto would have to stay at the base and vent, rather then go out in public.  
  
Magneto glared daggers at him as a metal table began to rumble and lift off the ground.  
  
"Right, I'll take that as my cue." Pyro said, ducking and closing the door behind him as he made a run for the exit of the base.  
  
When he closed the door and calmed down he stopped to catch his breath.  
  
~CRASH!~ Magneto had apparently just thrown something metal into the adimantium walls, actually causing a rather large dent about three meet away from where Pyro was leaning on the wall, catching his breath.  
  
Pyro jumped back from the wall and nodded his head.  
  
"That bloke's got serious anger management issues." He said to himself, walking out into the public to search for his friend.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So what do we do now Professor?" Amara asked. Her question was followed by various 'yeah's' and 'What now's?'  
  
"We wait." Xavier said simply. The teens all stared at their leader like he was crazy. Then came the roar of protests by each student at the same time.  
  
"Enough!" Logan shouted, silencing the mutants in the room.  
  
"You all heard the Prof. We're gonna wait, and I don't want any more complainin about it." Logan told them.  
  
They all murmured a 'Yes sir' or something to that effect.  
  
Logan leaned over to the professor and asked, "Uh..Chuck?"  
  
"Yes Logan."  
  
"What exactly are we waiting for?"  
  
Xavier cleared his throat to get the attention of the others. "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you what we were all waiting for." Xavier apologized.  
  
"And that would be?" Logan asked.  
  
"The return of Rogue and Gambit. They should be back soon and I don't want to do anything else without the entire team here. Even if we're missing only two members." Xavier explained.  
  
"Where are they?" Jubilee asked.  
  
"Probably up at Miller's cliff." Tabby murmured to Amara who reacted by saying very audibly, "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"  
  
Tabby rolled her eyes.  
  
"Now why would you shout when I whisper?" She asked.  
  
"What are you two yappin about?" Logan questioned.  
  
Amara's sudden outburst had caught the attention of the rest of the group.  
  
"Nothing!" They said in unison.  
  
"What were you two talking about? It might be important to the mission." Scott said.  
  
"Not unless the mission is to suck face with Rogue." Tabby mumbled, causing Amara to giggle for a second.  
  
"Super hearing kid." Logan growled.  
  
"Hehe.oh yeah. Forgot about that little detail." Tabby mumbled.  
  
"Where do you think they are?" Tabby asked Storm.  
  
"Out looking for Kitty like the rest of us were, I'm sure." Storm said, ignoring Tabby's remark.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So where should we go next?" Rogue asked Gambit.  
  
"Dunno petite. Where d'ya tink dey would have a good lead on where t' find de fille?" He asked.  
  
"I might have an idea of where to look."  
  
Rogue and Remy turned their attention to the new voice in the conversation who was leaning lazily against a brick wall, flipping his lighter's top off and on repeatedly.  
  
Rogue went straight to fighting stance but Remy just looked at his friend with curiosity.  
  
Rogue was about to threaten John to leave or else when something happened that she didn't expect.  
  
Remy looked around.  
  
"Yo' be all by yo' self Pyro?" Remy asked, going into fighting form as well, taking out his bo staff and twirling it around with ease.  
  
"Yup. All by m' lonesome Rem." John said, putting away his lighter.  
  
As soon as Remy heard the pyromaniac call him by is real name and not his alias he dropped the angry, ready to fight, act and his face softened with a huge grin.  
  
Then Rogue saw something she definitely wasn't expecting to see.  
  
Remy closed up his bo staff, put it back into his trench coat. Then he and John hugged.  
  
It wasn't one of those girly hugs or the hugs that Remy give Rogue. It was just one of those hugs you give your friend when you haven't seen them in a while when you're a guy.  
  
Rogue's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. What the hell was going on around here?  
  
"How's it been mate?" Pyro asked.  
  
"Same ol' same ol'. How bout you?" Remy asked.  
  
"Not much. The Sheila huntin just aint the same without you mate." Pyro said.  
  
"Oui, probably wouldn' be...but Remy not be huntin anymo'." Remy said with a smile, tilting his head at Rogue so Pyro understood.  
  
"Uh..Remy?" Rogue asked, a little..okay a lot confused with the scene playing out before her.  
  
"Oui chere?" Remy asked as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Oh y' know John dontcha?" Remy asked innocently.  
  
"Yeah I know him. He tried to burn my hair off my head." Rogue shot.  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry about that Sheila. No hard feelings?" John asked, putting his hand out.  
  
Rogue stared at it as if it were going to explode when she touched it.  
  
"Chere y' don' have ta worry bout John when he be alone. He an' Remy be real good friends. He was de only one o' de Acolytes dat knew bout Chloe." Remy assured her.  
  
"Yeah Sheila. I'm as harmless as a kitten when the others aren't around...speaking of kittens, I overheard your little problem." John said.  
  
"And?" Rogue asked, not entirely convinced her was to be trusted just yet.  
  
"And it just so happens that one of our merry men of Acolytes has gone missing as well." John explained.  
  
"So?" She asked.  
  
"So, I figure we can help each other ya know? Cause chances are they're together." John told her.  
  
"But why would they be together?" Rogue asked, confused.  
  
"Because he was last seen at the post office and if I'm not mistaken, so was your friend." Pyro told her.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So if we find Piotr, we find that little Valley girl of yours that he's so obsessed with." John finished.  
  
"Oh, okay. But where do you think we should..Rogue stopped and realized what he just said.  
  
"WHAT!?" She exclaimed. "What do you mean he's so obsessed with her!?" She asked.  
  
"Remy's hand went up to his face and he slapped his own forehead,  
  
"John ya moron. Piotr is gonna skin y' alive." Remy groaned.  
  
"You knew about this!?" Rogue asked incredulously.  
  
"Oui."  
  
"And ya didn't tell meh?"  
  
"Non"  
  
"Why thah hell not?" She asked, a little annoyed and forgetting Pyro at the moment.  
  
"Chere, if y' tol' Remy sometin outta secrecy, would ya wan' Remy ta go tell his friends?" He asked.  
  
"No. I guess not." Rogue mumbled, knowing that he had a point.  
  
"So are we going to look for them or not?" Pyro interjected.  
  
"We're going to look, but where do we start?" Rogue asked.  
  
"The old warehouse district down by the docks." John told them.  
  
"Why there?" Rogue asked at his random choice of places.  
  
"Ever get a look at the tin man while he was in his armor?" The Aussie asked her.  
  
Rogue nodded. She had after all battled with all of the Acolytes at one time or another before.  
  
"Well then you know how tall he is. There aren't many places a bloke like that can stay without getting noticed as being different." Pyro said, putting emphasis on the word different.  
  
"Alright. I'll just call the professor and tell him what we're doing." Rogue said, taking out her communicator.  
  
"Hey wait!" John exclaimed. Rogue stopped and waited for him to say something.  
  
"Just don't tell him I'm here. It'll be my ass if Mags finds out I helped the X-men..even if it is to get back Piotr." John told her.  
  
She nodded and turned on the link.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rays of sunshine poured into the high windows in the warehouse. Kitty was currently curled up on the crate with her arms crossed under her chest. Her head was resting sideways on Piotr's leg and she was using it as a pillow. She didn't know she had gotten into this position overnight and she was still fast asleep.  
  
Piotr was also asleep. His back was against the wall and the rest of him was in a sitting, slouched position on the crate with Kitty. Neither of them had awoken yet or were showing any signs of waking up either.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Where the hell are they?" Logan asked, frustrated. They'd waited half an hour now and still no sign of Rogue or Gambit.  
  
"I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Storm said, trying to calm him down. If he lost it in front of the children there was no way the kids themselves were going to stay under control.  
  
"Yeah, well if we don't hear from them in the next two minutes I'm gonna.." Logan was cut off by a static sounding radio, followed by Rogue's voice.  
  
"Hello? Anybody there?" She asked into it, waiting for a response. Instantly all of the X-men dove for the radio.  
  
"FREEZE!" Logan said in a gruff, military voice. All students froze in their place, barely breathing. "Step away from the radio." He told them slowly in a mock police officer way.  
  
They all did as he said and sat back down where they were before Rogue had contacted them.  
  
"Hello?" Rogue repeated again.  
  
Logan walked over to the radio, picked it up and flipped the switch to his side of the communicator.  
  
"Stripes? Are you hurt in any way?" He asked.  
  
"Uh.no." Rogue answered, a little put off by the random question.  
  
"Well then why the Hell aren't you here!?" He yelled.  
  
"So much for calmness and keeping your cool." Orroro mumbled.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rogue held the link away from her head a few feet as Logan's yelling filled the air.  
  
"Damn. You quit the Acolytes for that?" Pyro asked Remy when he heard Logan going ballistic.  
  
"Non mon ami. Not fo' dat." Remy said, referring to Logan.  
  
"Fo' dat." Remy said with a smug smile, pointing to Rogue who was trying to get a word in edge wise in her conversation with Logan.  
  
She hadn't noticed Remy point to her but she suddenly felt like she was being watched and whirled around, glaring at Pyro and Gambit who were staring directly at her just as she'd expected them to be.  
  
They quickly turned their heads to look over at a random brick wall or up at the sky or down at their feet, looking as innocent as two boys like Remy and John could.  
  
She rolled her eyes but was brought back to the link lecture when Logan called for her.  
  
"Stripes? Stripes can you hear me? Are you listening to me?" Logan asked.  
  
Rogue quickly turned her com link back on and spoke into it.  
  
"Uh, yeah Logan. Sorry about that. The static on this thing is terrible. So listen, the bad news is we don't have Kitty." Rogue told him.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
All the people in the room seeped down in their seats at the Goth's words and let out a few groans.  
  
Logan ignored them and continued on with Rogue.  
  
"And the good news?" He asked.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
The good news..the good news is that we have a lead. A really good lead for where Kitty may be." She said with a little hope in her voice.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
At Rogue's new words the people in the room all perked up and their eyes brightened in hope.  
  
Logan however, did not change his tone in his voice.  
  
"And what would this lead be and who did you get it from?" He asked.  
  
There was sudden silence on the other end of the radio.  
  
"Stripes?" Logan asked.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Rogue turned to John who had a look of fear in his eyes. He thought she was going to turn on him and tell Wolverine he was a part of this and then word would get back to Magneto and he'd be in way over his head.  
  
Rogue bit her lip nervously, looking toward Remy for an answer of what to do.  
  
What she got wasn't exactly an answer. It was more of a comforting, reassuring smile that said 'Do what you think is right.' He seemed to have faith that Rogue wasn't going to snitch on his friend.  
  
She smiled at how much reliance he had put in her and a warm feeling rose in her chest but she shook it away quickly, getting back to the things at hand.  
  
John looked at her pleadingly and she swallowed hard, which didn't make him feel any better. She took a deep breath and spoke into the link, staring at John while doing so.  
  
"Yeah Logan. Ah told ya the reception ova here sucks." She answered.  
  
"Fine, but what about the lead? Answer my questions already will ya?" He asked impatiently.  
  
"Right. The questions." She said, still looking at John, who was staring right back at her.  
  
"The lead is that she could possibly be in one of the old buildings in the warehouse district by the docks." Rogue answered.  
  
"Did any of you check there yet?" She asked.  
  
Logan looked at the students who all shook their heads.  
  
"No. But where are you getting this information of yours?" He asked suspiciously. Something was up and he knew it.  
  
Rogue and John locked eyes again and Remy watched them both intently, seeing what Rogue's next move was.  
  
Rogue took another deep breath, shut her eyes for a second and then continued to look at John and talk to Logan.  
  
"The source..the source is..." She stuttered.  
  
"Yeah? The source is what?" Logan asked impatiently.  
  
"The source is..is.." Rogue stopped. She was seconds away from giving in and blurting out that Pyro was the one with the bright idea, which would no doubt lead them all into trouble. She shook the thought away and smirked in the corner of her mouth.  
  
John and Remy saw this. "Is that a good thing mate?" John asked Remy in a whispered voice, not taking his eyes off Rogue.  
  
"Don' know. But Remy tinks we about t' find out." He answered at the same volume.  
  
"The source is..common sense." She answered.  
  
"Come again?" Logan asked, confused.  
  
"Common sense Logan. Think about it. We looked everywhere else and you said yourself we haven't checked there yet. Plus if someone had her then they'd take her somewhere away from the public. The abandoned warehouses fit that profile perfectly." Rogue replied smoothly.  
  
Remy grinned at Rogue and Pyro let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Tol' ya mon ami. Mon chere knows what she be doin." Remy told Pyro.  
  
"We'll send someone over to check on your theory." Logan said.  
  
"NO!" John exclaimed, covering his mouth when he realized Rogue still had the com link open.  
  
"Who was that?" Logan asked gruffly.  
  
"Uh..that was..a random person in the background. It's a little noisy over here. But Logan you don't have to come. We're closer then you and it might attract some attention if a group of random people are walking around in an abandoned warehouse zone ." She replied.  
  
"Oh..alright fine. But I'm still coming over. You've got fifteen minutes to find her before I come and help." Logan said.  
  
Rogue sighed.  
  
"Alright." Rogue said. She knew she had gotten something out of the deal and she wasn't going to push it.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So when are we going?" Bobby asked.  
  
"We're not. I am." Logan grunted.  
  
"Huh?" The other kids asked in confusion.  
  
"Oh Come on Logan. At least take a few of us. You promised us that the next small mission we had you'd take us on." Bobby said.  
  
"Yeah." Amara and Jubilee said in unison.  
  
"Come on Wolverine. I really want to go on my first mission. I mean at least the others all had a little action. What about me?" Chloe asked.  
  
Logan was getting a headache and his patience was thinning.  
  
"FINE! But if yer not ready in three minutes I'm leavin without you." He said.  
  
Logan didn't have to finish what he was saying.  
  
All four kids were out of site, getting ready.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Okay this is the last warehouse. We've searched all the others." Rogue said, walking ahead of the two boys.  
  
"Den maybe dey be in dere petite." Remy said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah sure. What are thah chances of that happening? This was a really great idea Pyro." Rogue mumbled sarcastically.  
  
She pushed open the door of the musky old building and stepped inside, followed by John and Remy.  
  
They all looked around but saw no one.  
  
All of a sudden Rogue came to a sudden halt, causing a chain reaction of Remy bumping into her and John bumping into Remy.  
  
Rogue's mouth fell and her eyes widened.  
  
"What's de hold up chere?" Remy asked.  
  
She pointed silently over to what had caught her attention.  
  
John's eyes widened as well.  
  
"Oh, dat." Remy said after seeing what she was pointing to.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
In two minutes exactly the younger mutants came stampeding down the stairs and toward the door,  
  
"FREEZE!" Logan called.  
  
Bobby stopped with his hand on the knob and Jubilee collided into his back. Amara and Chloe weren't yet at the door but froze when he said to.  
  
"We're ready." Jubilee said excitedly.  
  
"No your not." Logan growled.  
  
"What do you mean we're not? What else do we have to do? We're in uniform." Bobby said, motioning to all their attire.  
  
"That's just it. You're in uniform. This is supposed to be a low-key mission. As in not attracting attention to ourselves while looking for Half- pint." Logan explained.  
  
"Which means?" Chloe asked, not getting the point he was getting at.  
  
"Which means no uniforms. Go change into your normal stuff. We don't need the press on our backs while we're trying to do this. And I definitely don't need to be rescuing you all from mutant haters while I'm already looking for Half-Pint." He said.  
  
The four let out groans and ran back upstairs to change back to what they were wearing in the first place.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Hahaha! I am sooooooo evil. I know I didn't have any pairings in this chapter or anything but I so will have them in the next chapter...I think. I don't really know yet.  
  
For those of you who are wondering if that little bit back there with Scott and Jean was a Scott bashing moment, it wasn't. It was just Scott getting all worked up and worried about Kitty. I don't do bashing. It's against my code of...fanficness? anyways I don't like to read bashing so I really don't like righting it either. If I do somehow write bashing in a chapter PLEASE by all means, call me on it so I can fix it.  
  
So how did you guyz like it? I know Kitty and Piotr were asleep through the whole thing but I needed to have this chapter in here before Kitty and Piotr woke up. And besides, I wanted John to be in this chapter. Aren't him and Remy such cool friends?  
  
Okay PLZ PLZ PLZ Review People! Tell me what you thought of this chapter and stuff like that.  
  
With all that said, thanx for reviewing and everything. I know ya'll must be excited cause for some of you the 'Cajun Spices' episode is going to be premiered in just ONE WEEK BABY!!!!! And hmm..what could an X-evolution episode called CAJUN Spices possibly be about? Lol :P Wish for Romyness in that Ep like I'm doing okay people!  
  
Later days!  
  
-AngieX 


	24. Warehouse Encounters

CHAPTER 22 Ware House Encounters  
  
"Should we wake them?" Rogue asked, motioning to the Acolyte and her friend.  
  
"Should you wake who?"  
  
The three mutant teens all turned back to the entrance to see Chloe running up and greeting them, huffing heavily from being out of breath.  
  
"Chloe what y' be doin here petite?" Remy asked, quirking his eyebrow.  
  
"Logan and I were looking for you guys." She said, regaining her breath.  
  
"Logan? Logan's here?" Rogue exclaimed.  
  
"Well no, but he will be soon. I ran ahead to the next warehouse. He's still looking around for Kitty in the other ones. He said he definitely smelt her scent. Oh and get this, he also said he smelt two of the Acolytes as . . . well." Chloe said, pausing before the last word when she got a glimpse of John.  
  
"What are you doing here?" She asked John.  
  
"That's all I get? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years and you greet me like this? Rude Sheila you turned out to be haven't you?" John noted sarcastically.  
  
"John!" Chloe said, suddenly realizing who he was.  
  
Rogue blinked and found that John was in a hug with yet another one of the newest X-men.  
  
"Did Ah miss somethin?" Rogue asked Remy who smiled at his sister and his friend.  
  
"Non. . . well oui actually. Y' see mon petite, Remy jus' happen t' know ol' Johnny boy 'ere b'fo' Mags recruited us. We met a few times b'fo' back when Remy was wit de guild." Remy explained.  
  
Rogue's mouth was shaped with an O and was fairly stunned at the news. "Any more information ya been holdin out on meh Swamp Rat? Know any of thah otha Acolytes from b'fo Mags took ya in?" Rogue asked sarcastically.  
  
"Oui, Sabretooth, but dat be a long story an' dis aint de time o' de place fo it. Specially now dat we got Chloe an' Logan." Remy said.  
  
"Logan? Oh Mah God Logan!" Rogue exclaimed, suddenly realizing that the man was probably on his way to the building as they spoke.  
  
"John noticed her exclamation and his eyes widened, he stiffened a great deal at the older mutant's name.  
  
"OH MY GOD!" Chloe exclaimed, seeing Kitty and Piotr on the crates.  
  
John covered her mouth and muffled her talking any more. "Sheila do ya want ta get Wolvie's attention? If he hears ya yell he's gonna come runnin to the rescue and if he sees Piotr and I well. . . lets just say I'd rather not be grilled along side the shrimp on the Barber. And if Wolvie storms in and finds us here your ol' pal Johnny is gonna get shish-cabobbed.  
  
Chloe nodded.  
  
Suddenly three sharp blades cut through the wooden door, followed by three more blades.  
  
The teens all watched as the blades were removed and the door was kicked down furiously by an enraged and actually howling Logan.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"What do you think is taking them so long?" Tabby asked, dancing around to the music that was playing on her headphones.  
  
"I don't know, but I'm sure they'll be back soon." Storm said reassuringly.  
  
Tabby had opted to stay here and man the fort while Scott was volunteered by Logan to take the younger students, save Chloe, out to town to see how much of the word of the riots had gotten out to the public sense yesterday and how badly it was looking for mutants.  
  
That was why they all went in casual clothes, though they would probably still be seen.  
  
Chloe had somehow managed to get drafted for the warehouse search, probably because her brother was there and she didn't think it was fair that he was allowed to go and she had to go talk to civilians about the riots.  
  
Logan could have easily told her no and that Remy was out there because he was older then her and a hell of a lot more ex to town to see how much of the word of the riots had gotten out to the public sense yesterday and how badly it was looking for mutants.  
  
That was why they all went in casual clothes, though they would probably still be seen.  
  
Chloe had somehow managed to get drafted for the warehouse search, probably because her brother was there and she didn't think it was fair that he was allowed to go and she had to go talk to civilians about the riots.  
  
Logan could have easily told her no and that Remy was out there because he was older then her and a hell of a lot more experienced but he already had a migraine and didn't have the energy to argue with her so he let her come along if she was quiet the entire way there.  
  
Ororro smiled inwardly. Being around all these adolescence was starting to have its effects on the almighty, tough Wolverine.  
  
He was becoming softer and caving in more easily, though she'd never call him on it unless he'd had at least five beers first.  
  
She was starting to worry. They'd been gone a while now and she hadn't heard from them sense they'd left.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Sparks what's the matter?" Logan growled.  
  
Instantly he looked right past Remy and Rogue and saw an Acolyte with his hand over Chloe's mouth.  
  
Logan's eyes narrowed dangerously at John whose facial expression went from confused, to scared, then he looked from Logan to Chloe who he was still holding onto.  
  
John's eyes went wide when he realized what this picture must look like to Logan.  
  
He let out a yelp and pushed Chloe away from him with a nervous smile and laugh.  
  
"Hey mate. How's it goin?" John asked innocently before gulping loudly.  
  
"Wolverine's claws came out again and he stepped toward John.  
  
"Yipe!" John exclaimed and dove behind Rogue for protection.  
  
Logan growled and now it was Rogue's turn to look up at her mentor as innocently as possible.  
  
"We can explain this." Rogue said as innocently as possible. Remy just smirked at the sight and strode over to Chloe to make sure she didn't say something stupid and get them all in trouble. She had a tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time a lot.  
  
Logan looked from Rogue to John to Remy and Chloe, then back to Rogue. He still hadn't noticed Kitty, though he could smell her.  
  
"Ya know what Stripes. I don't want to know." He said with a very exhausted sigh, walking away.  
  
Rogue and the rest all let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't seen Piotr and Kitty and didn't want answers at the moment.  
  
Logan was almost out the door that he'd knocked down moments before when his ears twitched and he heard something that all the rest of the teens heard, even though he was much farther away.  
  
It was Kitty, yawning and awakening from her sleep.  
  
Logan turned around and walked over to the other teens to see what they were all huddled together, hiding from his vision, though he already knew who it was.  
  
"Move!" He ordered gruffly as the others all winced at his harsh tone.  
  
Chloe and Pyro immediately jumped out of the way and Rogue and Remy just held their breath and let the man through.  
  
Logan growled at what he saw before them.  
  
Kitty yawned again and buried her head deeper into her 'pillow', wanting to return to sleep before the danger session that day.  
  
"HALF PINT!"  
  
Kitty's eyes popped open and she yelped in shock, phasing through what she was sleeping on and through the floor.  
  
Piotr opened his eyes as well and looked around, shocked to see all the mutants before him. He then realized that the warmth on his leg was gone because Kitty wasn't there any longer.  
  
He looked around for signs of her in confusion. He saw John and Remy and looked even more confused.  
  
"What happened?" He asked.  
  
"Oh nothing, just that you and Kitty were practically laying on each oth- Mph!" Chloe said but was cut off at her last words by Remy covering her mouth with his hand and pulling her into him to keep her quiet.  
  
"Y' really do have bad timin on y' comments petite." Remy whispered.  
  
Chloe just scowled at him for being in this position twice in the same five minutes.  
  
Kitty phased back up from the floor and looked around, rubbing her head. Obviously she hit it somewhere along the way.  
  
"Hey, like what's going on here!?" Kitty exclaimed, very annoyed.  
  
She then stopped when she saw Rogue slash her gloved hand across her throat as if to say shut up.  
  
Kitty looked around and saw that all eyes were on her.  
  
"Um. . . . What are we doing here?" Kitty asked.  
  
"You don't remember?" Piotr asked.  
  
Kitty whirled around at his voice and suddenly all the memories of the night before came flowing back at the sight of him.  
  
"Oh yeah, now I remember." Kitty said happily.  
  
Then she gasped at the realization of the situation.  
  
"Uh-oh." She said, wincing and turning slowly to face Logan.  
  
"This can't be good." She said, seeing that a good chunk of the team had come to her 'rescue'.  
  
"You got an excuse for this too Stripes? Or was Half Pint using the enemy as a head rest because he's made outta feathers?" Logan asked sarcastically.  
  
"Oh no. No way. Sorry Kit but yar on ya own fer this one." Rogue said, taking a step back.  
  
"Thanks a heap Rogue." Kitty mumbled.  
  
"Well Half Pint?" Logan said, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Um. . . would you believe I like got caught in the rain?" She asked laughing nervously.  
  
"No." Logan said gruffly.  
  
"Tell me." He said sternly.  
  
She looked around for some help but only found them all waiting for her to say something and awaiting Logan's reaction.  
  
Piotr had now stood up and joined his teammate. She didn't take it personal. She would have done the same if Logan looked at her like he was Piotr.  
  
Kitty felt a little happier when she noticed that Logan was being protective of her. She knew they would have worried after they realized she was missing but it was nice to know that she had a family, or the closest thing to one anyway, that cared about her well being.  
  
She also smirked when she noticed that Rogue and Remy's hands were intertwined and they looked so perfect together. She'd have to get the down low on the date from Rogue but later because now was not the best time or place.  
  
Kitty looked to Piotr for answers but he didn't know what to say either.  
  
"Half Pint?" Logan asked.  
  
"You sure you want to know? I mean it's like a really long, confusing story and I'd much rather go home so-" Kitty started.  
  
"No, lets hear the story. I'm listening." Logan said.  
  
Kitty looked to the others one last time before she sighed and took a very deep breath.  
  
"Well okay then. See what happened was that it all started when I wanted to mail a letter to my parents because it's their Anniversary next Monday and it takes a while to get there by mail. I went downstairs but then I had to take everybody else's mail too, and we're talking like at least sixty letters or something. Then when I went to the post office I mailed all the letters but then I ran into Pio. . . Colossus. Literally. And then I went over to wait by the bus but it didn't come so I was going to walk home but then my hat blew away and these jerky guys came and started pushing me around and then saw I was a mutant and somehow things led to other things and there was a kinda riot. So I made a run for it but then the guys came after me and I was hiding in a tree and I slipped and fell and I think I might have like twisted my ankle or something because I can't walk on it. Oh and Piotr scared the rioter guys away and it started pouring so we had to hide and the closest place was here. And now I'm explaining all of this to you right now." She said in only a few breaths at a speed that made her sound like Quick Silver.  
  
They all stared at her dumbfounded. Even Logan looked at her a little taken aback.  
  
She looked around at all their wide eyes and dropped jaws and smiled weakly. "Well you did tell me to say the whole story." She told Logan with an innocent smile that only she could pull off around him.  
  
"Yeah I know Half Pint. I just really wish I hadn't." Logan said, rubbing his temples.  
  
"Sheila's got one hell of a set of lungs there mate. You gonna use that to your advantage?" Pyro asked Colossus suggestively, earning him Rogue's elbow in his ribs. Colossus did the same only forgetting his strength, accidentally flung him across the room.  
  
"Bloody hell mate. Why'd ya have to go and pick on the little guy?" Pyro asked, rubbing his head after it made contact with the wall.  
  
Piotr murmured a 'sorry' of some sort and Logan rolled his eyes, able to hear what they had said because of his powers.  
  
"Mr. Logan?" Kitty asked, waiting for him to reply.  
  
Logan sighed, very, very tired at the moment.  
  
"I'm getting' too old for this crap." Logan grumbled before walking out the door.  
  
The others just stared after him and at each other.  
  
Kitty was about to say something to brake the silence when Logan did it for her.  
  
"X-MEN GO HOME NOW!" He yelled before getting on his bike and sped off back to the institute.  
  
"HEY! That was my ride!" Chloe exclaimed, bolting out the door.  
  
Remy laughed and Rogue dragged him to the parking lot where he would tell his sister she could ride with them.  
  
John left after that and left Piotr and Kitty alone once again.  
  
"Your leg. You can walk again!" Piotr exclaimed, realizing that she was standing without help.  
  
"Oh no not really. I'm kind of cheating." She said, looking down at her hurt foot.  
  
Piotr arched an eyebrow in confusion.  
  
"I'm phasing my foot." She explained.  
  
He nodded in understanding as they walked and phased out of the building as well.  
  
"So thanks a lot for saving me. . . again." She added, laughing lightly.  
  
"No worries Katja." Piotr told her.  
  
"No worries? Ha! Wait'll you hear Mags. He's on one of his rampages of anger cause you were missing. And guess who he took it out on." John said, referring to himself.  
  
"I still say that bloke needs a few months of anger management classes." John mumbled, walking over to Piotr's bike that he'd found near the post office and gotten over to the warehouses somehow still in one piece.  
  
"Well I guess we'd better get going too then." Kitty said, stuffing her hands into her pockets. She felt something and pulled it out.  
  
"Oh My God! No way! No freaking way!" Kitty groaned in exasperated shock.  
  
"Oh of all the. . ."  
  
What is it?" Piotr asked, she'd drawn the attention of everyone by now.  
  
"It's the letter to my parents. I was too busy mailing everyone else's that I forgot about it. I just went through all that Hell for nothing!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.  
  
The others laughed quickly before covering it up with coughs or throat clearings.  
  
"Well den we bes' be goin hahn femmes?" Remy asked the three girls.  
  
"All aboard de Cajun Express." Remy said. Rogue rolled her eyes and got on first, followed by Kitty, and Chloe was just small enough to sit in front of Remy.  
  
It wasn't the safest or most practical thing to do but hey, she would have fallen off the back of the bike before they left the vacant lot and Remy wasn't supposed to have more then two people on it anyways, let alone four.  
  
Kitty sighed and hopped on the bike stealing one last glance at Piotr.  
  
"See you later Piotr." She called, waving to him as Remy drove away and they two Acolytes were out of site.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Okay there's your next chapter.  
  
Yeah I know it didn't have a lot in it but I figured I should probably get it out sense I have PSAT's coming up and I won't have time to write or update or anything for a while.  
  
Okay this isn't one of my best chapters but I REALLY REALLY hope ya'll liked it and that it'll hold ya over till next time.  
  
Review so I know if I'm doing it okay or not or if you have any questions.  
  
Now PLZ!  
  
-AngieX 


	25. Battle of Blackmail and Birthday Cake

CHAPTER 24 Battle of Blackmails and Birthday Cake  
  
"C'mon petite. Get up." Remy said, ripping the blankets off his little sister's bed, revealing her curled up form on the mattress.  
  
"Non, too early. Come back later." She mumbled into the pillow, snatching her covers back from him and pulling them back over her head.  
  
Remy laughed at her and poked the small lump that was her body causing it to squirm a bit.  
  
"It be five in de evenin' chere. Any lata an' ya gonn' be de only one up." He said, taking the blankets yet again.  
  
"I just spent three hours in a danger room session just so I can find out that if I use my powers while I'm touching water I could electrocute myself. I really, REALLY want to sleep right now." She said, sitting up and glaring at him.  
  
His only response was to smile down at her and tuck the messy, stray hair that was hiding her face behind her ear.  
  
"There is absolutely nothing you can say or do to make me move from this bed." She said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest firmly.  
  
"Well den Remy be guessin it be poin'less t' tell y' dat yo' boyfrien' be on de phone." He said slyly.  
  
"Nice try Rem. Conner's out of town for the weekend for a family reunion." She said, catching his bluff.  
  
"Aright den." He said, turning around to leave.  
  
She smiled at her victory but before she realized it she was being yanked by the sleeve and out into the hall.  
  
"Non, come on. I just wanna go to bed. Pleeeeeease!!!!!" She whined.  
  
"Non, Dere be sometin downstairs fo' ya." He said to her.  
  
"Well then It'll be there for me when I wake up three hours from now." She said, getting dragged down the hall.  
  
"What could possibly be more important then getting my very much needed slee-" She couldn't finish her question. She turned the knob on the door and when she opened it she was blown away by the X-men all standing in a balloon filled room yelling "SURPRISE!"  
  
She looked around and noticed the banner on the wall that said 'Happy Birthday Chloe!' and streamers were hung in places she was sure could only be reached by Night Crawler who had tape stuck all over his furry body, ignoring the laughing Kitty was releasing as a result of his 'sticky' situation.  
  
"Um. . . guys, not that I'm not thankful or anything, but. . . my birthday isn't for another three weeks." She said.  
  
"Ve know." Kurt said cheerfully, taking a large gulp from his Kool-Aid.  
  
"That's like the surprise." Kitty said in an equally cheerful voice.  
  
"Soooo does this mean I get to drive?" She asked hopefully.  
  
"Non." Remy said firmly in unison with Logan who said it in English.  
  
Wolverine winced at the thought of Kitty's little driving escapade when she'd turned fifteen and nine months.  
  
He wasn't sure why but Remy had made it perfectly clear that she wasn't allowed to drive legally until she was sixteen and not a minute sooner and if Gambit had reason to believe that his little sister's driving skills were anything like Kitty's then Logan was 100 percent behind him.  
  
"So I have to wait three long agonizing weeks until I'm allowed to ride?" She asked, sulking at him.  
  
"De car, oui." Remy said.  
  
"So I can ride your bike sooner?" She asked hopefully.  
  
"Hell no chil'. Where'd ya get dat crazy idea? Y' ain' getting anywhere near Remy's bike afta what happen' las' time." He told her.  
  
"Aw man." She sulked, sinking into the couch.  
  
"Hey I have a question." Jamie said, being the random little twelve year old he was.  
  
"Why does Chloe talk like everybody else when Remy has that accent thing?" He asked curiously.  
  
Everyone was quiet and looked from Jamie to Chloe and Remy. The two hadn't been very open about their pasts with the X-men yet and they all had a feeling it was probably for a good reason, but either way it must have been a touchy subject.  
  
"Jamie why don't you and I go get the ice cream ready? Who wants vanilla?" Storm asked, getting the question canceled out with her own.  
  
"Oh its okay Miss Munroe. We don't mind, do we Remy?" Chloe asked, though it was more of a comment then a question.  
  
"Non." Remy said honestly.  
  
"Oh. Well then I guess if you'd care to enlighten us. . ." Storm said, sitting down again.  
  
"Well Remy was born an' raised in de Bayou so he tinks he be stuck wit dis 'accent ting' o' his fo' life." Remy answered first, mocking Jamie's term for his Cajun accent to show it wasn't a sensitive subject.  
  
The kids smiled at his mockery even though Jamie hadn't gotten it.  
  
"An' mon familie be part o' dis. . . well mo' like de head o' dis guild an' it non be de mos' safe place fo a petite femme like Chloe." He paused, looking at his little sister.  
  
"Mon merre an' perre taught it woul' be bes' if Chloe had a life outside de guild, seein how-"  
  
"Seeing how Remy turned out to be the way he was." Chloe said, smirking devilishly yet playfully at her older brother.  
  
"Oui, dat pretty much de case. Dey wanted de petite t' have as normal life as possible so dey sent her t' live wit mon tante down in Florida." Remy told them all.  
  
"So you never saw each other?" Jubilee asked, a little astounded that they would do that to her like that.  
  
"No, unfortunately for me, I got to see Remy every Friday through Saturday and during all the holidays and days off of school we had." Chloe piped in.  
  
"That's where the missing accent came from then? You didn't have one because you didn't live in Louisiana?" Scott asked.  
  
"Pretty much. It was kind of like having two homes, two places, two groups of people, basically it was like having two lives." She stated, sounding as if she had just now realized it.  
  
"That must have been confusing though." Jean put in.  
  
"Yeah, but not that bad. I mean everybody in the Guild in New Orleans knew me and everything so it was all cool. Mostly because my dad was like head of the guild in that area like Rem mentioned." "You mean there's more then one of these guilds?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Well duh! There's like one in just about every state in the country, but it stops there. At least that's as far as we go. I mean everybody in New Orleans knows about Remy and Henri because they're technically supposed to take over when the leaders are. . . retired or something." Chloe said, finishing with a pause but erasing any sad thoughts that were drifting into her head.  
  
This was her birthday and she was going to be happy and have fun if it killed her. "But if we went to a guild in Europe or something they wouldn't know who Remy or Henri were." Chloe added.  
  
"Wait, who's Henri?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Uh. . . Chloe Remy tinks dat be nuff info'mation bout de guild dat y' need t' give out fo' de night non?" Remy said, ignoring Rogue's second question.  
  
"So you weren't a thief like Remy?" Bobby asked, ignoring the older boy's request.  
  
"Bobby please." Jean said at his somewhat rudeness and for being so blunt about calling Remy a thief.  
  
"S'okay Jeanie, de boy jus' callin em' as he sees em' oui?" Remy asked Bobby.  
  
"Uh. . . I guess." Bobby answered, turning back to Chloe.  
  
"So did you pickpocket and break into houses and rob banks and stuff?" Bobby continued.  
  
Jean just gave up and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Something about the Thieves Guild Bobby." Chloe said, putting her hand on her hip, showing attitude.  
  
"We don' steal, we acquire." She said, falling into her second accent, which she could do fairly well.  
  
"So you have two accents?" Roberto asked.  
  
"Well sorta. I mean you pick up on stuff without realizing it when you spend so much time out in the Bayou like we did." She said, going back to her normal way of speaking.  
  
"Wait, So when Remy said he was the Prince of Thieves, he was like actually being literal?" Kitty asked.  
  
"How do ya figure that Kit?" Rogue questioned.  
  
"Well if his dad is the one in charge then he'd be the one right below him like King to Prince. Get it?" Kitty explained.  
  
"And here Ah thought ya earned that title from all thah steal. . . uh acquirin ya'll did back in thah day." Rogue said, turning to Remy who smiled sheepishly at her.  
  
"A lil bit o' both mon chere." He said, pulling her into his arms again before she stepped away once more.  
  
"So that would make you the Princess of Thieves?" Tabby asked. "Hey that means we now have two princesses in the house. This place is turning out to be a regular Buckingham Palace." Tabby joked, ignoring the glaring Amara who ended up laughing along with her in the end.  
  
"Pft! Mon souer ain' de Princess o' Tieves. Sure dere be de ting wit mon perre bein in charge but dat don' mean y' can' jus' have a title like dat. Y' gotta earn it jus' like Remy did." Remy said, being a little too over dramatic for the conversation.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and mocked him by lisping the words he was saying as he said them. Obviously she'd heard this little speech of his quite a few times before.  
  
"So then what are ya?" Sam asked.  
  
"I'm a soon to be sixteen year old girl, about five feet, six inches, brown eyes, auburn hair, and a cocky, overbearing, older brother as a guardian. You?" Chloe answered sarcastically when he asked 'what' she was.  
  
"Ya know what Ah mean." He said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"She de Lady o' Tieves. Dats been her title sense she was firs' born." Remy said, smiling back at long past memories.  
  
"You know what, this is really nice." Chloe said, examining the streamers, banners, presents and people with ridiculous looking hats stuck to their heads.  
  
"Thanks everybody. This is probably WAY better then that COMING INTO party I've heard about in the guild." She said.  
  
"What's that?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Its when somebody from de guild turns de age o' sixteen an' de entire guild comes t' celebrate de occasion. Plus dere be all dese traditions an' special stuff y' gotta go trough." Remy said, frowning.  
  
Rogue looked at him peculiarly.  
  
"Remy REALLY didn't like his Coming Into party. He had to stand next to perre and listen to him talk about their next heist while all the older men in the guild drank and smoked cigars and told him how proud they were and how he would make a fine addition to the team. Remy'd been thieving for years now and they only now noticed." Chloe answered for him.  
  
"Plus dey make de thievin a chore sometimes. An' dat jus' takes all de fun right outta it." Remy said, putting an arm around Rogue subtly, who ducked under it just as smoothly.  
  
This little game of theirs had been going on a while now sense the party started. Logan saw Rogue duck and get out of his grasp every time and smirked after frowning and growling at the Cajun.  
  
"Well we don't have banquet halls and hundreds of people showing up to honor you but we do have about seven tubs of different flavored ice cream, at least fifteen toppings and nine boxes of order out pizza." Storm said to Chloe.  
  
"Sounds like I got the better party to me." Chloe said cheerfully.  
  
In truth, deep down she knew she really, really wanted more then anything in the world to have a COMING INTO party like Remy and all the other people in the guild had, but what she wanted wasn't the gifts and the fancy parties and the huge amounts of cake.  
  
What she wanted was to have her mother fit the family dress to be Chloe's size, even if it was the tackiest thing she'd ever seen. To hear her parents hold their glasses and give a speech about how she was just in diapers yesterday so it seemed, and to start the party with the traditional father daughter dance that was done before any others.  
  
She wanted all that, but she knew she couldn't have it. So when Chloe thought about it, this party was probably better then the one she'd dreamed about in the Bayou.  
  
Remy noticed the sad glint in her eyes and she noticed that he'd seen it as well so she quickly concealed it, suppressing any bad feelings until after the party and as long as she could after that.  
  
Remy wanted to talk to her about the emotions he was picking up from her at the moment but he thought it best not to pull her away from the crowd of people. Her mood was lifting each minute as her  
  
"Hey like don't forget the birthday cake!" Kitty said cheerfully, bringing it out to the people and setting the huge thing down on the coffee table in the middle of the room.  
  
"Uh-oh- I mean, how nice. You made me a cake?" Chloe asked, eyeing it.  
  
"No, I did the next best thing. I bought it." Kitty explained, getting a room full of sighs of relief after saying so.  
  
"Well then child, why don't you blow out the candles and make a wish?" Storm suggested.  
  
Chloe smiled and leaned into the cake, the fire from the candles glowing and lighting up her face. She took a deep breath and prepared to blow out the sixteen candles when a huge gust of wind came through the open window and blew them out before she had a chance.  
  
"Well that was unexpected." Chloe said, looking down at her blown out candles.  
  
"And you didn't even get to make a wish." Jamie said, sounding upset for the girl.  
  
"Dat be okay petite/ Remy'll light em again." Remy said, charging the wick of each tiny candle.  
  
(A/N: Yeah yeah I know technically if Remy charged the tiny candles they'd all explode but its HER birthday and MY story and WE are going to let this rule slide, so tuff noogies people! :P)  
  
She smiled at him, even though the rest of the group took a step back, apparently not trusting Remy's ability to control his powers enough to only spark the candles and not blow the cake up.  
  
Chloe took another deep breath and was about to blow out the candles when. . . .  
  
DING DONG!  
  
The doorbell rang and echoed through the mansion.  
  
"I'll get it." Kitty said, standing from her seat and hurrying to the front door. When she reached it she opened both doors and to her surprise, standing there rather uncomfortable looking was Piotr. John was also with him but he looked right at home.  
  
"Elo Sheila!" Pyro said happily, walking inside.  
  
"Come on in." Kitty muttered sarcastically as he walked past her.  
  
Colossus waited a minute before taking a step into the mansion.  
  
"Looks like we have some more party guests." Kitty said in a sarcastic tone, walking back into the party room.  
  
The X-men all turned their attention to her to see what she was talking about.  
  
Scott and Wolverine were standing and ready for a fight in three seconds flat. The others just looked at the two newcomers curiously and a little skeptically but didn't get up.  
  
"Hey Sheila! 'Appy Birthday!" John said, strolling into the room like he owned the place and sitting down next to the birthday girl.  
  
"Did you get me a present?" She asked.  
  
"Bloody hell Sheila! We bloody nearly risking our lives to come to this little shindig of yours. Isn't that gift enough?" Pyro exclaimed.  
  
"So. . . did you get me a present?" She asked again innocently.  
  
Pyro smiled at her and ruffled her hair before reaching into his coat and pulling out something.  
  
He handed her a wrapped package that was obviously her gift and then his eyes caught the now melting candles.  
  
"Ooh! Fire!" Pyro said perkily.  
  
Before he could say or do another thing all the remaining X-men sitting around the table had flown forward and blown out the candles before Chloe could make a wish or Pyro could burn down their home.  
  
"I wasn't going to do anything. You people are all paranoid." John said, trying to sound a little offended. He failed miserably.  
  
"Just precautions Bub." Logan said.  
  
Scott, Logan, you can sit down. Mr. Alderdyce asked if he could attend this evening's events and I agreed." Xavier explained.  
  
"Ya mean after all that hell we went through down in thah alley thah other day ya'll are tellin' me that ya decided it wasn't important if Mags saw ya with us?" Rogue asked, exasperatedly.  
  
"What hell in the alley?" Logan questioned.  
  
"No Sheila. You got it all wrong. I'm here because I said I'd be. After all I haven't been to one of her birthday parties in how long?" Pyro asked.  
  
"Nine years John. And you better have brought a decent gift or an invitation this time." Chloe remarked.  
  
Everyone looked at her dumbfounded.  
  
"Well at least I didn't bring Sabretooth this time around." He said, grinning ear to ear.  
  
"Yeah okay." Chloe said, shaking the box he brought her.  
  
"Wait! Hold on! Will somebody please explain what's going on here!?" Scott asked.  
  
"You didn't tell them?" John and Chloe said in unison, turning to Remy.  
  
"Why always Remy dat gotta be de one ta tell dem. Y' wanna tell em' tell de people yo'selves." He said, snaking an unnoticed arm around Rogue's small waist.  
  
Well almost unnoticed. Logan growled and shot out three of his claws on his right hand threateningly.  
  
"Watch the hands bub." He growled.  
  
Rogue looked to wear Logan was glaring in confusion and blushed red immediately and undid herself from his arm, dashing forward a very big step and out of the Cajun's reach.  
  
Technically it wasn't out of his reach, but it was within Logan's, which meant she was safe from Remy for the time being.  
  
"So why don't you guys start explaining already?" Roberto asked impatiently.  
  
"Yeah." The others cried.  
  
"Oh come on you guys! It's a really long story and I don't feel like telling it." Chloe whined.  
  
"We don't expect you to. It's your birthday. We want him to do the story telling." Jubilee said, pointing to Remy who was eyeing Rogue and getting a perspective of the little dilemma he was having with Logan being there.  
  
"Sorry mon amis but Remy be too tired an' dis be a way too long story fo' him ta tell y' right now." He said, plopping down onto the couch.  
  
Everyone groaned and complained at his choice but they knew the Professor would just tell them that if Remy didn't want to talk about something personal then they shouldn't press him on the matter.  
  
Rogue smirked devilishly and walked over to Remy who noticed the change in her aura immediately and looked up at her quizzically.  
  
"What be goin on in dat pretty lil head o' yo's chere." He asked, raising an eye row.  
  
"Oh nothin." She said, sitting down next to him.  
  
'Here goes nuthin.' She thought to herself, trying to keep a straight face. 'What Ah do fer mah teammates.'  
  
"Ya know Remy, if ya were ta tell us the story, well then Ah'd be real grateful." She said, leaning into his ear.  
  
"How grateful?" He asked, his eyebrow still raised.  
  
"Very Grateful." She said in a way that broke the words apart but held a seductive and suggestive manner to it.  
  
This time both Remy's eyebrows rose this time, higher then before and a devilish smile planted itself securely on his face. He'd gotten the picture.  
  
"Really now? Well petite, Remy would, but he jus' be so very tired." He said, yawning and leaning back on the couch.  
  
"Fahn then." She said, getting up immediately before he could hold her down.  
  
"Did it work?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Naw, sorry guys. Guess ya'll are gonna have ta be kept in suspense." Rogue told the teens.  
  
The adults were now in the other room, letting the kids listen to music and chat amongst themselves without all the parental figures there as supervisors.  
  
"Try again! Jubilee whispered.  
  
"Yeah, come on Rogue, do it for the team!" Bobby added.  
  
She scowled at him and looked over at Remy with a sigh.  
  
"Alright Ah'll try one more time, but if this don't work then Ah'm outta ideas." She said, looking very hesitant about what she was about to commit to.  
  
"And ya'll owe meh BIG fer this one, ya hear?" She hissed, keeping her voice down so Remy didn't hear the conversation. He was already eyeing them curiously with his one open eye.  
  
"Rogue like what are you going to do?" Kitty asked, glancing at Peter, who was sitting a little uncomfortably in the chair by the massive bookcase, studying Xavier's selection of literature.  
  
Rogue didn't answer. She just shook her head in disbelief and took a deep breath.  
  
"Ah can't believe Ah'm about ta do this." She said to herself and the X- members around her before clearing her throat and talking louder so the Cajun could hear.  
  
"Well sorry ya'll. Ah mean if Remy had agreed on tellin' us thah story then Ah was gonna give him somethin' in return ya know, like say lettin' him go a day bein able ta flirt with meh and all without thah risk of meh tryin ta kill him but sense he's not gonna agree then Ah guess ya'll are outta luck." Rogue said, grabbing his attention immediately.  
  
Bobby caught on and winked, getting what she was doing.  
  
"Whoa wait! You mean like you were actually gonna make a deal with him that if he told us everything then you'd like not be able to hit him or threaten him or push him away when he flirted with you and held you and stuff?" Kitty asked, catching onto what she was planning.  
  
"Yeah, but sense he aint gonna tell us then-"  
  
Rogue didn't even have to finish her final sentence.  
  
As soon as Kitty's words registered into his mind he sprung from the couch and nearly flew to the Goth's side in a speed that made quick Silver look sluggish.  
  
Before she could turn around or say anything else she'd been stopped by Remy snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her very close to him, their hips knocking into each other's as he did so.  
  
"Like Remy said, he'd like nuttin more den ta tell ya bout what eva y' wan' ta know." Remy said, getting a scowl from Rogue and a grin from everyone else.  
  
"This so betta be worth it Cajun!" She mumbled sourly.  
  
"Hush petite. Let Remy tell de story like a good lil' fille." He said, grinning down at her. She shot daggers at him with her piercing green eyes. This guy was really going to test the limits of their little deal, and he wasn't wasting any time in doing so.  
  
"Aw don't tell me you blokes want Gambit to tell the story!?" Pyro said, after the word of the story got the attention of Chloe and himself.  
  
"And why wouldn't we?" Amara asked.  
  
"Cause love, I've heard this Wanker's version of the story. The main things he remembers is all the Sheila's he hooked up with during everything." Pyro told her.  
  
"Oh." She said.  
  
"Y' know y' right John, so Remy's got a betta idea. He gon' let Chloe tell de story." Remy said, tightening his grasp on Rogue who immediately tried to rip free from him.  
  
"But she wouldn't remember it. It happened nine bloody years ago mate!" John remarked.  
  
"Oui, but we video taped a good bit o' de action, an' de happenins o' dat party still be talked about till dis day so it be fresh in de fille's mind." Remy answered, not letting go of the pissed off girl in his arms.  
  
"Well then thah deal is off." Rogue said, squirming.  
  
"Non, Remy still made it so de story be tol', he jus' ain' gon' tell it himself." Remy said, smirking down at her.  
  
"Dat still be part o' de deal." He told her, loving the glare he was receiving because of it.  
  
"He's like right Rogue. Looks like you're stuck." Kitty shot in.  
  
Rogue turned her scowl to Kitty who cowered over to where Peter was sitting after meeting Rogue's glare.  
  
"Hey Peter, come on, we're about to hear a story." Kitty said happily, grabbing Peter's hand before he could object or even acknowledge her presence.  
  
Chloe sighed and put down the box she was shaking around in a guess to see what was inside.  
  
"Alright fine." She grumbled, shooting Remy a 'thanks a bunch' look. Remy grinned at her innocently and sat on the couch, dragging Rogue into his lap in the process.  
  
She tensed up and froze but after about five minutes of Chloe talking Rogue seemed to get more comfortable on the Cajun's knee, even if she hadn't noticed it yet.  
  
Remy smiled at his and leaned back, causing her back to fall into his chest without her realizing it.  
  
". . . So it was my seventh birthday right? And Remy was off on one of his little missions that he was assigned to all the time now that he'd become an official thief or whatever." Chloe said, not mentioning much about the guild itself to her friends.  
  
"Well what happened was we were all outside and the party had been going on for about an hour. Remy was supposed to be there but he just HAD to pick the pockets of just one more person." She said, scowling for a second at him.  
  
"Anyways, we were eating and everything and who do you think shows up looking for a guy named Gambit? I'll tell you who. Sabretooth." She said, getting surprised looks from everyone.  
  
"'Ey now! What about me?" Pyro asked.  
  
"I'm getting to it." Chloe said in a 'hold your horses' sort of way.  
  
"So as I was saying, he shows up and claims Remy and some other guy stole something very important from his boss and he wanted it back pronto."  
  
"Hey! Remy didn' steal de ting wit some otta guy. Remy went solo on dis one." Remy said, sounding very offended that he'd need someone else for a one-man task.  
  
"Hush Swamp Rat! Ah wanna hear thah story." Rogue said.  
  
"And Remy, having the impeccable timing he always has, decided to join the party at that very moment with John." Chloe continued.  
  
"Wait! You mean John was part of that guild thing too?" Kitty asked.  
  
"No way! If John was a part of the guild we probably wouldn't have a guild. It would have been burned to ashes years ago." Chloe exclaimed.  
  
"Hey!" John exclaimed.  
  
"What? You don't agree?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Well no, Its true. . . I just had the urge to sound outraged." John said, sitting back down.  
  
"John wasn' part o' de guild. He jus' happen' t' run int' Remy when he stole from de fur ball. Dis be de block head dat Big Foot saw Remy wit." Gambit explained.  
  
"Right. So like I was saying, Remy had just entered the gates and everybody stopped and stared at him and John, who they'd obviously never met before and were wondering why he was there. Well in the end Remy ended up having to give back what he stole because he'd been caught red handed. It has to do with the commandments of the guild or something. I don't know. But Sabretooth and John ended up staying for the party. Well more like John stayed for the party and Sabretooth scowled and hulked around. Apparently there was some Area 51 people or something tracking Sabretooth and since my moron older brother's scent led him straight to the secret area of where the guild was he used it against us and we had to let him stay over night or else he'd tell our secret. We had a telepath wipe his mind of where the guild was after he left but their powers weren't strong enough to wipe out his memory of us." Chloe said, glad that she was done with telling the story.  
  
"But why'd you take John to the guild if it was all secretive?" Bobby asked Gambit.  
  
"Didn' have a choice. De men tracin Creed picked up on our powas an' we both had t' bolt b'fo' dey got up to us. Remy may be a tief, but he wouldn' neva leave a man in a six against one fight. Jus' not right." Remy said.  
  
"And that's how ya'll knew each otha?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Yep. Dat be de story." Remy told her.  
  
"Well in that case." She said, bolting for a passage way through his arms but found none as his limbs didn't even budge. Except of course when they pulled her closer to him after she tried to escape.  
  
"Now, now chere. Dat not fair. Remy held up his end o' de bargain so y' gotta hol' up yo's." He said, waving his index finger at her in mock shame.  
  
Rogue just scowled at him in return.  
  
"I really didn't like Sabretooth." Chloe said.  
  
"Remy sure de feelins mutual." Remy told her.  
  
"What did I ever do to him?" Chloe exclaimed.  
  
Remy raised an eyebrow and she smiled sheepishly.  
  
"Oh yeah." She answered with a small laugh. "That." She said, recalling what Remy was thinking.  
  
"What did I miss?" Kitty asked, confused at what was going on.  
  
"Nothing." Chloe said, wanting to forget about what she remembered.  
  
"Psh Remy wouldn' call what y' did t de fur ball nuttin." He said, receiving a glare from his older sister.  
  
"What'd she do?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Remy they really don't need to know about anything else." Chloe said.  
  
"Non, but Remy gon' tell em' anyway." He said, smirking at her.  
  
"That guy gets upset over the littlest things. Its not even important." Chloe said.  
  
"Lil? Petite, Braidin de homme's hair when he was sleepin isn' lil." Remy said, causing gapes from the teens in the room.  
  
Logan choked on the drink he was sipping at the moment and had to fight not to laugh at this. He was in the next room with the adults but with his good hearing he could listen clearly to their conversation.  
  
"You did what!?" Evan asked.  
  
"Hey it wasn't my fault. He was the one that didn't want to play dress up." Chloe shot back. "I was seven!"  
  
Rogue wanted more then anything at that moment to see Logan's reaction because she knew he'd have one. She wasn't sure but it was probably something like he was fighting smiling at laughing while trying to maintain his rough exterior. This in itself caused Rogue to laugh because she knew all too well that the man could hear what was going on.  
  
"Dank de Gods mon cousin foun' de petite b'fo' she got t' de makeup." Remy said, shuddering at what Sabretooth's reaction to that might have been.  
  
Rogue laughed at the vision she was getting and Remy smiled down at her.  
  
"Remy likes it when y' laugh chere." He whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her skin. She shivered involuntarily and scowled at him.  
  
Remy just laughed in return.  
  
"Ah can't believe that happened. No wonder the hairball doesn't like ya." Rogue said with a small laugh.  
  
"Non, Remy tinks what really got to de homme was afta he woke up an' decided t' take a showa." Remy said, glancing at Chloe.  
  
Chloe's eyes widened in horror. "Remy no. Don't you dare!" She exclaimed.  
  
"What? What happened?" The others asked.  
  
Remy smiled at them and then back at his sister.  
  
"Remy you so better not say a word/ I swear if you do you'll regret it." She threatened.  
  
"Oh? An' what y' gon' do petite?" He asked playfully.  
  
"Oh trust me. I know stuff about you that I'm very sure the people here would just love to hear about. Very VERY embarrassing things you've done." She said with a glint of evil in her eyes.  
  
"Remy doubts dat petite." Remy said, not taking her threat seriously.  
  
"Oh no?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Non." Remy said, clearing his throat.  
  
"As Remy was sayin, Growly took a showa an' Chloe decided dat she wanted t' comb her hair in de same room at de same time." Remy said, pausing to glance at Chloe who was glaring daggers at him.  
  
"An' when she opened de door. . ." Remy trailed off.  
  
"Well lets jus' say none o' de guest towels were big enough fo' de homme." Remy said while looking at his sister who was starting to blush and wince at the memory.  
  
"Next ting we know we hear de fille screamin all trough de house an' she come runnin int' de kitchen screamin sometin bout her eyes." Remy said, laughing at the memory.  
  
Everyone stared at Chloe was had sunk lower into the couch at was covering her eyes. "Thanks a lot Remy. Took me long enough to get that image out of my head as it was." Chloe scowled at him.  
  
"No prob petite." He smiled happily.  
  
Logan winced at the thought of what she had to see and decided that this particular event wasn't funny as much as it being cruel for a seven year old to witness.  
  
"Oh that's it! I warned you!" Chloe said, standing from her seat.  
  
"Calm down petite. Y' bein a wimp ova dis." Remy said, getting under her skin a little.  
  
Chloe was about to insult him and yell at him when she thought of something and her features changed to smiling evilly at him.  
  
"Yeah but at least unlike a certain older brother of mine, I didn't cry at the end of Titanic." She shot back coolly. Remy's head jerked up and his eyes widened.  
  
Pyro started cracking up and Chloe smirked, satisfied with herself.  
  
Rogue was laughing as well, which didn't make Remy any happier.  
  
"Now petite dat wasn' very nice." Remy said, trying to sound like he was just brushing it off like he didn't care that Rogue was laughing and it was embarrassing.  
  
"Oh poor Remy!" She said mockingly. "Afraid the girls are all going to stop having little crushes on you now that they know you're a softy?" Chloe asked, smiling.  
  
"At least Remy didn' have a crush on a Pyromaniac when he was seven." Remy shot back coolly, smiling at her.  
  
Chloe's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. John had stopped laughing and the teens awaited her reaction.  
  
"Hey! That's not fair! I was seven and stupid!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Hey!" Pyro piped in, trying to sound somewhat offended.  
  
"Shut up." Chloe and Remy said in unison, causing the pyromaniac to sit back down.  
  
"And besides, you are so one to talk." Chloe said to Remy.  
  
"An' what's dat suppose' t' mean petite?" Remy asked.  
  
"Oh please." She said, putting her hands on her heart and mocking Remy as she imitated him for everyone.  
  
"Oh Rogue, Remy tinks y' tres beautiful when y' laugh mon chere." Chloe said in an accent that could only have been Remy's.  
  
"She started laughing along with Pyro and some of the others in the room.  
  
Remy didn't say anything and Rogue just blushed madly and wished that she was anywhere but stuck on Gambit's lap.  
  
"And at least I don't say certain girl's names in my sleep. When you came back for a weekend visit after you joined the Acolytes no one could figure out why you were murmuring something about a Rogue in your sleep. They'll all get a kick outta this one." Chloe said.  
  
"I for one think its great that Remy can't get a girl off his mind and not vice versa. Nice change in pace if you me." Chloe said.  
  
"Non, y' right. Y' don' talk in yo' sleep. Y' jus' sing de alphabet." Remy shot back.  
  
It had now become a battle of secrets and they were all being reveled to the X-kids who were all just waiting to see how this played out.  
  
"Remy flirted with a girl at one of the guild parties and she turned out to be our cousin." Chloe retorted.  
  
"Chloe was convinced dat dere was a monster unda her bed till she was eleven." Remy shot.  
  
"My dad and some other older men in the guild took Remy to a strip club when he was twelve and when the striper came over to them Remy apologized for looking." Chloe said with a smirk.  
  
Her older brother's weakness was without a doubt his manliness and masculinity. There was no secret about that.  
  
"Chloe's biggest fear is o'dose Teletubie tings on de TV." Remy announced.  
  
This was all a little out of character for Remy. He knew that, but it was all in good fun and he was feeling a little under-aged at the moment so it was okay. Just that normally he would never be the type to indulge in such an immature conversation. It was all fun and playing around so no harm done. At least that's what he thought.  
  
Chloe gasped. She had gotten so caught up in the playing around with the secret spilling and she was completely thrown off at the last secret of hers Remy had told that she wasn't even thinking straight and before she realized what she had done or what she was saying she burst out . . .  
  
"REMY'S A VIRGIN!"  
  
The laughter that had been going on in the room the whole time had ceased immediately and Chloe's hand flew up to her mouth in shock and her eyes widened when the words left her lips.  
  
"Uh-oh." Chloe said, looking at Remy.  
  
Remy simply removed Rogue from his lap, sat her down on the couch and stood from his seat, walking over to Chloe.  
  
Chloe immediately ran for the exit of the room and found sanctuary behind Logan who was now standing in the doorway.  
  
"Alright now that's enough. There's not gonna be any rough housing inside the mansion." Logan said, crossing his arms as Remy stopped in front of him.  
  
"Phew." Chloe sighed in relief, stepping out from behind Logan.  
  
"If you're gonna do anything to each other you'll have to use your powers and take it outside." Logan continued, causing Remy to grin devilishly and Chloe to go wide-eyed.  
  
"Huh!?" Chloe exclaimed but before she got an answer Remy grabbed her by the legs and tossed her over his shoulder, walking out the back doors and closing them behind him.  
  
"Logan do you really think that was wise?" Storm asked, coming up next to him.  
  
"Hey, I figure, what's wrong with a little training session outside? You gotta take it where you can get it now a days Ro." Logan said, hearing a loud explosion that meant Remy used his powers.  
  
Then the lights in the building flickered and dimmed and brightened on and off very quickly, meaning that Chloe was now using her own [powers/  
  
"Remy wait! Not the flowers!" Chloe shouted.  
  
Ororro winced and glared at Logan.  
  
"Great idea." She said sarcastically.  
  
Logan sighed. "I'll buy you new ones okay?" He offered.  
  
"And plant them." Ororro said, walking off.  
  
Logan grumbled and Chloe and Remy came back into the house.  
  
"Got it all outta your systems?" He asked.  
  
They both nodded and sat down. After a minute of silence the whole room of teens burst out in laughter at the events that had just taken place and Logan just shook his head and left.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Yeah totally long I know and all and I REALLY hope you all enjoyed it. There was some angst with Chloe but then there was happiness and I told you I was gonna fill everyone in on Chloe's past and all that.  
  
I hope I didn't over due anything or do something bad.  
  
BLAH!!! Don't blame any sucky writing I might post on me. Its all Marvel's fault for stopping X-evo, but I luv em newayz cuz they started it in the first place. Why couldn't they have had John and Remy in the last episode!?!? *Sobs*  
  
Oh and by the way yes, Henri is Remy and Chloe's brother in this but no Remy was not adopted. I know sorry I should keep the adoption but it's too hard to go around Chloe and Remy being so alike at times or looking somewhat alike.  
  
So he's gonna be related. Oh and by the way, I hope ya'll didn't totally hate the battle of blackmail info going on.  
  
I know it was totally OOC for Remy but he should be allowed to act a little more like a teenage boy on his kid sister's birthday and I'm sorry if him going after her for her last comment seemed OOC to any of you but just remember its all in good fun. Their siblings. Its what a lot of them do. We're not all like the freaking Brady bunch. *Shudders*  
  
Thanks for all you wonderful people who reviewed. Now please review again and tell me how much you liked or hated or whatever'd this chapter. Next one is gonna have a little more depressed Chloe in it but then its Remy to the rescue and Romyness. DUH!  
  
So review okay. Cuz the more reviews I get the longer and better and faster the story will be updated.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 


	26. With Presents Come Pasts

With Presents Come Pasts  
  
Jamie yawned and rubbed his eyes before closing them and leaning his head on the overstuffed chair he was curled up on.  
  
It was ten o'clock now and he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. He also had two extra training sessions today just out of bad luck with scheduling. Needless to say the boy was dead tired and it didn't take long before he was out like a light.  
  
No one seemed to notice him fall asleep in the chair by the fire. They were all eating their seconds and thirds of cake slices and sitting around Chloe as she tore open the neatly wrapped presents on the coffee table.  
  
Chloe's already huge smile grew when she took the lid off the small box that John had given her, revealing a small, yet sturdy and durable lighter.  
  
It was shiny silver with a ruby-like jewel design that was more orange then red that made a flame on it on one side and her name engraved on the other.  
  
"Oh wow! This is totally awesome!" She exclaimed, hugging John tightly in thanks.  
  
John was a little taken back by this but he smiled anyways.  
  
"And just think what fun you and I can have around this place now that we've each got one. Stick with me Shiela, I'll show ya how to really make use of this thing." He said, gesturing to the lighter.  
  
"Remy don' tink dat be a good idea." Remy said, eyeing the mischievous look in John's eye. The look he knew all too well.  
  
"I'm offended mate!" Pyro said in mock form. "You don't think I'm a good example for your kid sister?" Pyro asked, ruffling Chloe's hair playfully to her dislike before she fixed it.  
  
"Non, Remy don' tink y' be a good example fo' any o' dese teens. Gambit's seen what y' do when yo' roun' fiya." Remy remarked, gaining a small scowl, a roll of the eyes and a grin from Pyro.  
  
"True, true." John said heartily  
  
Chloe smiled and picked up the next box. She'd already gotten a necklace from Jean, a cell phone from the adults, which is the thing everyone got when they turned sixteen, one of those fuzzy pink sweaters from Kitty and a DVD gift card from the guys along with a bundle of gifts the Guild sent to her.  
  
"Okay dis one be from Remy." Gambit said, handing her a small square box.  
  
She took it and shook it close to her ear. "Well its not jewelry." She said. She examined it skeptically and looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"It's not gonna blow up is it?" She asked.  
  
"Non, don' be silly petite. Jus' open it." He said.  
  
She eyed him once more but then decided it was safe and began opening the wrapped parcel.  
  
Remy smiled and sat back down, lifting Rogue into his lap in the process.  
  
The Goth only scowled at him and sighed in aggravation in return.  
  
That stupid deal she'd made with him meant she couldn't claw his eyes out of remove his manhood because of anything he did. This was going to be the longest night of her miserable life.  
  
"Do Ah really have ta do this?" She asked in a complaining tone.  
  
She'd stopped trying to squirm long before when she realized her efforts were futile and it looked as if he were actually taking pleasure in her twisting and turning.  
  
"Aw come on chere. Don' tell Remy y' ain' enjoyin dis." He whispered into her ear.  
  
She didn't answer him. She didn't say she was enjoying it, but what made him grin was that she didn't say she wasn't liking all the attention either.  
  
Remy brushed his thumbs over her arms in a rubbing process, which seemed to make her loosen up at melt a little in his arms.  
  
Rogue had to admit that she liked this. She wouldn't admit it if it cost her, her life, but she liked it.  
  
"Oh no way! This is so cool!" Chloe exclaimed, breaking Rogue and Remy out of their own trains of thought.  
  
Rogue looked up and Remy smiled, knowing that was the reaction he would get.  
  
"Thank you." Chloe said, hugging both him and Rogue since the girl was stuck on her brother's lap.  
  
Remy had gotten his little sister something she really liked. It was a deck of Cajun designed cards that were clearly from the South with intricate embroidered designs on one side with a suit on the other.  
  
Not only that, the cards were a mixture of red, black, and gold.  
  
The first thing she thought of when she saw the cards was her brother, and that in itself made her smile gleefully.  
  
Remy laughed at her enthusiasm and kissed her on the top of her head. "Anniversaire heureux petite souer." He said to her. (Happy Birthday little sister)  
  
"Le meilleur un je jamais avais." She said, leaning back and looking at him. (The best one I ever had)  
  
Remy hadn't noticed that Rogue had made her way onto the seat next to him. Either that or he just didn't see it as a problem right now since he was having a hallmark moment with his sister. Either way Rogue had gotten away.  
  
Xavier noted that Logan was smiling. The Le Beau's had come a long way since they had first come into the lives of the X-men.  
  
Progression had definitely taken place; Remy was feeling less stress over the responsibilities of being a guardian now that he had the X-adults to help where a nineteen-year-old boy couldn't.  
  
He was after all, not an actual parent. He didn't know how to raise a child, let alone a hormonal female adolescence having to deal with her newfound powers.  
  
Chloe had also improved in the way that she had unquestionably gotten out of the deep depression that she kept falling into every time she had a flashback or blamed herself for the accident.  
  
It had now gotten to the point where she could think about memories of her parents and not get depressed and closed off. Just as long as the actual accident didn't pop up in her head she'd be fine.  
  
If it did then all that hard work they'd all done, in all she'd worked at, would all go down the drain.  
  
Logan knew this was, though highly unlikely, very possible. But he also knew that as long as Remy was there he would never let that happen. He loved his sister too much for her to go through anything like that again.  
  
Logan just hoped that the worst was over for the two when it came to the loss they'd recently suffered through.  
  
"As do I Logan. As do I." Xavier said in a voice that only Logan could hear when the telepath picked up on his screaming thoughts.  
  
"And as long as nothing happens I think that they will both be just fine." Xavier added.  
  
"I sure hope you're right Chuck." Logan said, getting back to the party.  
  
"Okay now open ours." Amara said, motioning to the CD case shaped gift. It was from Amara, Jubilee, Tabby and Rahne.  
  
"Oh you guys didn't have to. I mean you already got me the bracelets and the make-up." Chloe said, motioning to the gifts from before by the table.  
  
"Yeah well we did anyways so open it." Jubilee said.  
  
"Hmm. . . Wonder what this could be." Chloe said sarcastically. Clearly it had to be a CD.  
  
"Oh just shut up and open it." Tabby said at her smart-ass comment.  
  
"Alright, alright." Chloe said, laughing. She was having so much fun. Nothing could ruin this feeling she was having or the fun she was having. Or so she thought.  
  
She tore off the paper and saw what CD they had gotten her. Suddenly the room had two very tense teens in it as Chloe stared blankly at what was before her.  
  
Rogue could feel Remy tense up and mouthed 'What's wrong?' to him. She saw that he was watching Chloe intensely for some sort of reaction. Why, she didn't know.  
  
Xavier and Logan also saw the gift and the look on the girl's face and on Remy's. They knew that the reaction wasn't a good one and there had to have been a reason for that.  
  
Logan stood but Rogue motioned for him to not make a scene. He sat back down, realizing that it probably would have been a bad thing to say anything.  
  
There in front of Chloe was something she never thought she'd see. It made horrible memories rush back into her mind and pain to surface once more.  
  
"Its. . ." Chloe let out.  
  
"Its Evanescence. We figured you'd want it seeing how yours broke." Tabby said.  
  
"Oh. How did you. . ." Chloe trailed off in an almost inaudible voice. It sounded so weak and feeble.  
  
"Know yours was broken?" Jubilee finished for her. "We saw that yours had a big crack in it when we were helping you unpack when you first moved in." Jubilee explained.  
  
"Oh." Chloe answered.  
  
Remy tensed and shut his eyes, waiting for the tears, but they never came.  
  
He opened his eyes and though her face was a dreadful pale that made Rogue look tanned, she didn't show any signs of breaking down.  
  
'Maybe it don' remind her o' de accident.' Remy mused.  
  
"So Chloe," Amara asked. "How'd you crack it anyways? I mean that's one huge line. Did you step on it or something?"  
  
'Or maybe not.' Remy winced inwardly.  
  
"Or something." Chloe said in the drained voice. She knew very well how she'd gotten the CD broken.  
  
She was listening to her favorite song on her Evanescence CD when the accident occurred. When the truck swerved and hit them, and when her parents left her forever.  
  
In the crash she had her CD player hooked onto her buckle so it went through the window with her. After the glass shattered though, the player came loose and it broke when it hit the ground. The CD fell out of it and cracked as well.  
  
"Don't you like it?" Rahne asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah, I love it." She said in a voice that could have been a little more enthusiastic.  
  
"Well then lets put it on so we can listen to something while we party!" Tabby said, yanking the CD from Chloe's grip and placing the disc in the player before Chloe could protest.  
  
"Oh, I don't think-" Chloe tried to say but it was too late. Tabby had already hit play.  
  
'Just don't let it be that one song! Please don't let it be that one song!' Chloe pleaded in her head desperately.  
  
Unfortunately the begging in her head did no good. To her horror, the song that came on was in fact her favorite song, the same song she'd been listening to in the car.  
  
*You cried I'd wipe away all of your tears.  
  
You scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
  
I held your hand through all of these years*  
  
Suddenly as she heard the lyrics that she'd feared even thinking about listening to since the accident, the memories flooded back and she found herself in the back seat of her dad's car.  
  
Her parents were arguing as usual but this time she knew what was coming next. She yelled in horror for her dad to watch out as a truck came swerving into sight and hit them.  
  
"Chloe?" Kitty asked, shaking her.  
  
Chloe snapped out of it and looked around. Jean had noticed something was wrong and turned off the music, and she noticed that everyone was now staring at her.  
  
"You okay?" Scott asked.  
  
"Oh um.. . yeah. I'm just kind of tired you know." Chloe said, blinking back the tears that began to swell.  
  
She saw that they all looked skeptically at her.  
  
"I'm fine. Really!" She assured them, standing up and faking a yawn.  
  
"You know what, I really am wiped. I think I'm gonna hit the hay if you guys don't mind. Thanks again for the great party. I had a lot of fun. G'night."  
  
They all watched as Chloe yawned in an unconvincing way and quickened her pace as she ran up the stairs without showing her face again to anyone.  
  
Rogue mouthed if Remy was okay when she saw the look on his face and took his hand in hers, squeezing it comfortingly. He returned the smile with a weak reassurance but didn't answer.  
  
They all looked at each other for answers but all they got was silence and Remy sighing and standing to his feet. He walked out of the room and after Chloe without saying a word.  
  
Rogue soon followed him before any of the adults could tell her otherwise. The other X-men all went their separate ways.  
  
"Poor Jamie. He tired himself out." Storm said, getting ready to pick up the sleeping boy.  
  
The phone rang. "Miss Munroe its for you." Bobby said, handing her the phone.  
  
"Don't worry about Jamie. I'll like take care of it." Kitty said, grabbing the boy and phasing him through the wall.  
  
Xavier invited John and Piotr to stay the night since it was late so Pyro decided to follow around the girls and flirt, which meant he was closely followed by Logan.  
  
Piotr decided to walk in the other direction where Storm told him Jamie's room was.  
  
"Well that all went well." Hank sighed, sipping his coffee.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Remy stood outside the room, thinking about exactly what to say. He sighed, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. No answer. He wasn't exactly expecting a welcoming committee.  
  
Remy slowly turned the knob and creaked the door open.  
  
"Petite? Can Remy come in?" Remy asked.  
  
No answer. He walked in and saw that she wasn't there. Then he saw the balcony door open just a crack and he smiled.  
  
Remy walked out onto the balcony and noticed the gigantic pine tree with towering sturdy branches that were covered with pine needles. Gambit smirked, knowing too well where his sister was.  
  
He used his arms to pull himself stealthily to the branch above him and did the same thing to the branch above that and so on, doing a few swinging flips up just because he could.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Okay squirt, its like past time for you to go to bed." Kitty said, watching Jamie scoot further under the covers.  
  
"But I can't sleep." The boy argued.  
  
"Sure you can. You were doing it before. Just close your eyes and thing about. . . think about happy thoughts." She suggested.  
  
"Like what? Like human and mutants getting along?" He asked the valley girl.  
  
". . . Yeah. Like that." She said, smiling at his innocence and the thought he brought up.  
  
"Tell me about it?" He asked.  
  
Kitty sighed in defeat and sat on the foot of his bed.  
  
"Okay but just once. You've only heard it like a million times before." She said pointedly.  
  
"So now I'll have heard it a million and one times. Please!" Kitty sighed and Jamie cheered with his eyes, knowing that she'd been defeated.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"You gon' stay up dere fo' de rest o' de night dere fille?" Remy shouted up at the very highest branches of the tall tree.  
  
There was no answer. Remy sighed and looked down at his attire and sighed.  
  
"Y' betta be wort dis petite." He called up, taking hold of the branch over him and pulling himself stealthily up onto it with his arms. He kept doing so to each branch above him until he came to a stop.  
  
"How'd you know I was here?" Chloe said as he got in an uncomfortable sitting position.  
  
"Are ya kiddin? Y' been climbin longa den yo' be walkin. O'course y'd go scalin' a tree when y' wanted ta be alone or pass de time by. Perre used t' have ta climb up int' de trees in de Bayou at all hours in de night cause y' refused t' leave de trees. Y' always were de weird one." Remy said to her.  
  
"This coming from the boy that blows stuff up with his fingertips." She retaliated.  
  
"So why y' up here chere?" He asked, studying her thoughtfully.  
  
She shrugged in a bored way as if she didn't know what he was talking about.  
  
'So she's gon' make dis hard on Remy den.' The Cajun thought to himself.  
  
"Well if Remy didn' know any betta he'd say dat y' were maybe a lil shaken by de unwelcome trip down memory lane non?" Remy asked.  
  
She didn't answer.  
  
"Well if y' were den Remy'd tell ya dat it be okay t' have dese feelins an' t' wanna cry." He paused, waiting for a reaction.  
  
When he got none he continued.  
  
"An' dat y' already be a brave fille fo' makin it trough all dis. It not stupid t' feel bad." He told her.  
  
Remy was about to continue when he felt himself being engulfed in a tight hug and felt Chloe's face burrow into his chest.  
  
The older boy smiled halfheartedly and stroked her back soothingly until she calmed down.  
  
"Dere be one mo' present fo' y' petite." He said. She pulled away from being latched onto him and looked at him curiously.  
  
"Another one?" She asked.  
  
"Oui, Remy figured it be best t' give y' dis witout de ottas." He said reaching into his pocket and retrieving a small rope that dropped down to the ground.  
  
"Now techniquement Remy was s'posed t' wait till yo' actual sixteenth birthday but m' tinkin now would be good." He told her, smirking. (technically)  
  
She raised her eyebrow skeptically at him. "You got me a rope?" She asked dully, knowing that wasn't the actual gift.  
  
Remy smiled at her and tugged on the rope, hoisting up a medium sized box that was attached to the end of the rope, sitting on the ground.  
  
She eyed him and looked down at the box.  
  
"It ain' gon' blow up petite. Jus' open it." He told her.  
  
"Alright, alright. Give me a second." She said, reaching for the box and tearing it open.  
  
In it was another box. She looked up at him with confusion etched all over her face.  
  
He laughed at her expression and took the box from her. He lifted the top off the shoebox-like package and she reached in, carefully lifting up her gift.  
  
"Oh that's so nice. Um. . . what is it?" She asked, tilting her head and the gift to get different perspectives of it.  
  
"Oh, Remy fo'got." He said sheepishly. He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a small, black, velvet box. He flipped it open, revealing a beautiful sparkling diamond ring with tiny intricately designed diamonds covering the band and one much larger diamond in the center, sticking out among the rest.  
  
"Wow!" She breathed.  
  
"Y' bes' be careful wit dis. It be de family ring on de' femme's side." Remy told her, grinning at the pure enthusiasm on her face.  
  
"I remember those stories. The youngest girl in the family gets the ring on her sixteenth birthday until the next generation. Tante Matte broke the tradition and gave it to mom and . . ." Chloe trailed off.  
  
"And mom was supposed to give it to me." She said quietly with a small smile on her face. A tear fell from her eye and down her face, not unnoticed by her older brother.  
  
"Oui. She woulda if she coulda." Remy said. "An' if y' think about it she still did. Jus' needed Remy t' be de delivery boy. Jus' like ol' times when she had Henry an' I runnin errands fo' her wit de guild." Remy said, smiling at the small memories going through his head quickly.  
  
"Yeah. You're right." Chloe said, hugging him once more.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Aucun problème petite. Jus' let Remy breathe." He said as her strong hug threatened to cut off some of his circulation. (No problem)  
  
"Oh sorry." She grinned.  
  
"So what's this got to do with that?" She asked, referring to the beautiful ring in one hand and the unidentified object in her other.  
  
"Watch." He said, taking the ring and the object from her.  
  
She watched as he said, curiosity overwhelming her.  
  
The object resembled a golden egg, about two or three times larger then a normal sized egg. Its bottom was flat enough so that it could stand on its own but there was a stand in the box for it anyways.  
  
The egg had elaborate designs in gold and silver and was rimmed near the bottom with the same diamond designs on the ring. There was a small slit on the bottom of it but that was it. Besides that there were no scratches, no marks, no flaws. It looked like something only royalty would deserve.  
  
She watched as Remy held up the ring in front of her and then placed it securely into the slit in the egg. She looked even more confused when she saw that the ring's bang fit perfectly in the opening.  
  
Remy then twisted the ring in the hole and Chloe heard a clicking sound as if something had been unlocked.  
  
Remy flattened his palm and held the egg in it in front of her. She looked in awe as a small turning disc came down from the egg and made the egg turn in a spinning fashion.  
  
Then the egg mechanically opened. It came apart slowly all at once. It looked as if the egg had been carefully sliced evenly five times around and the egg was completely disabled.  
  
The reason that the egg folded back like that was so that it could reveal what was waiting inside. A small light shined at the bottom and in the egg was a small platform with two dancers twirling around, matching the Cajun/Southern formal music that was coming from the egg somewhere.  
  
The girl dancer was clad in one of those old dresses you'd see a southern belle wear to a party back in the day. Even if it was only a figurine, and a tiny one at that, it was still beautiful and accentuated by the small light under it.  
  
The male dancer had her in his arms and they looked to be ballroom dancing Southern style. He was wearing a dress shirt and dress pants. It was amazing that they were so intricate with their designs that they looked just like actual tiny people.  
  
The lights danced around the dolls and Chloe's eyes were wide with pleasure, excitement, and amazement. It was magic. Pure magic. Remy could tell that she had quickly fallen in love with it as it pulled her into a blissful trance.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
". . . And in the end the cruel principle and his followers were run out of Bayville and the rest of the mutants and humans got along in peace, ignoring their differences for the most part and living life without disgrace or having to hide who you were." Kitty concluded as she finished the story.  
  
She looked to see if Jamie was showing any signs of entering the stages of sleep. There were none. Jamie was still wide-awake, looking at Kitty as if he were expecting another story.  
  
"Okay Jamie its time for bed now." She told him. He pouted and sulked at her.  
  
"But Kitty its only ten. I'm not even. . ." He Yawned widely in the middle of his sentence. ". . .tired!" He told her.  
  
Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Okay then, what do you suggest I do to make you tired?" She asked. He was starting to crack, now all she had to do was keep it that way.  
  
"Another story!" He said enthusiastically.  
  
Kitty rolled her eyes. Okay I'll be right back with a special bedtime book for you." She said, smiling and leaving the room.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Piotr walked along the halls passed all the rooms. He wasn't really sure which room he was allowed to stay in for the night. John was still downstairs so he couldn't help him and all these doors looked the same. He heard the familiar sound of a young girl's voice coming from one of the rooms.  
  
"So the mean principle sent away all the mutants even though they didn't do anything?" He heard another voice ask.  
  
"Yep. Now let me finish the story." He heard Kitty tell the other voice.  
  
"So anyways. . ." The sound of Kitty's voice became distant as Piotr continued his walk down the halls. At this rate he might just be able to find his room by sunup.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"So it's a music box?" Chloe asked, examining her new gift with a new perspective, now knowing what it was.  
  
"Oui, an' de ring be de key. Be careful wit bot' does tings petite. Dey each be ol' tings from de family. Dey each be very old so treat em' wit care." Remy explained.  
  
Chloe nodded her head and hugged him again. "I think this was my best birthday yet." She said, smiling.  
  
"So everytings good den?" Remy asked.  
  
"Oui. Son le mieux. Just like my brother." She said, kissing him on the cheek and jumping out of the tree gracefully. (Yes. It's the best.)  
  
"Nuit Remy." She said, taking her new possessions and making her way across the lawn before the motion detectors in the sprinkler system came on. (Night Remy)  
  
"Nuit." He said, even though she was long gone. Remy sighed and rolled his eyes as the sprinkler system came on. He didn't bother dodging the random drops of water as he walked back to the institute. Thanks to his sister his Trench coat was already stained with sap from the pine tree.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXX Kitty walked down the hall to the med lab where Hank practically lived because it had all his papers and experiments in the next room. She opened the door, knowing that Hank was still downstairs having coffee with the rest of the adults. Kitty expected to be the only one in the room. She expected wrong.  
  
"What are you like doing in here?" She asked.  
  
"I got lost?" Piotr offered, standing in the middle of the room with confusion written all over him.  
  
Kitty couldn't help the muffled laughter coming out of her. The scene in front of the girl was priceless. There in front of her stood a well over six foot boy with his hands in his pockets looking like a lost little kid. For some reason she found it absolutely hilarious.  
  
"Well." She started, clearing her throat to stop the giggles as she talked. "You can just come with me. I'll show you where you're room is but we have to run a little errand first." Kitty said.  
  
Piotr nodded as Kitty searched the room with her eyes, her hands on her hips.  
  
"Hmm. . . Ah-ha!" She declared, reaching for the thick, hard-covered science book on the desk. "Okay let's go." She said.  
  
He looked at her with curiosity but followed her lead just the same.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Remy walked back to the institute and went through the French doors on the side of the house. He was still sopping wet from his encounter with the sprinklers. He trudged into the empty living room and shook his head to rid his dripping hair of the water.  
  
At least he thought the room was empty. He looked up when he heard someone clear their throat and looked up suddenly.  
  
What he saw before him was not what he had expected. Rogue stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot and raising an eyebrow questioningly at him.  
  
"You wanna tell meh why ya soakin wet?" She asked, brushing the drops that he'd shaken onto her without knowing she was there.  
  
"Non, not really." He said, striding over to her.  
  
"Sprinklers got ya didn't they?" She asked knowingly.  
  
Rogue stepped in his direction, nearly closing the gap.  
  
"Everything okay now?" She asked out of concern. Remy sighed and smiled at her, taking another step closer, but not yet closing the gap between them.  
  
"As okay as it gon' get at de moment." He said, running his hand through his hair.  
  
She looked at him again and couldn't help but notice that, though sopping wet, he did look really good.  
  
"Haven't we been here before monsieur?" She asked, referring to their little experience in the rain a while back. (See Rainy Days)  
  
"Oui, but as I recall mon chere, Y' were also soakin wet las' time. An' y' had t' wear dat cute lil numba Remy liked so much.. . ." He said, trailing off as if picturing it.  
  
He was brought back to reality when Rogue threw a pillow at his head.  
  
"Perv." She told him, glaring half-heartedly at him.  
  
"Oui, but it ain' Remy's fault y' so damn hot." He argued in a low voice in her ear.  
  
Partially because he knew it made her shiver every time and partially because there was a 50/50 chance Logan was within hearing distance of the conversation and he really didn't feel like running after the badger that night.  
  
She began to walk away but he grabbed her by the arm and stood there for a second as their eyes met and with his smirk her own eyes widened in horror.  
  
"Le Beau Ah'm wornin ya. If yer thinkin' bout doin what Ah think yer thinkin' then don't ya dare!" She told him sternly, trying to brake free from his easily held grip.  
  
"What chere? You tink Remy's gon' go an' do sometin like dis?" He said, pulling her toward him in a way that made her twirl until she was locked in his embrace, the space between them gone.  
  
"REMY!" She shouted, hitting his arms as he trapped her.  
  
"Damn it Cajun! Now we're both soakin wet!" She exclaimed. Because he was wet to begin with, when he held her, it got her wet as well.  
  
"Oui but chere y' gotta look on de bright side." He said happily.  
  
"And what would that be?" She asked in annoyance, not even bothering to avoid his eyes even though they were only mere inches apart.  
  
"Well now it be more like dat day y' were recallin b'fo. Stead o' Remy bein de only one wet, now be bot' be soggy. Jus' like las' time!" He said cheerily, kissing the top of her head.  
  
"Oh joy." She said, her voice dripping with nothing but sarcasm.  
  
Remy just laughed, kissed her head again and hugged her tightly to him.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Okay that's it.  
  
Sry it took me SOOOOO long to update! Writer's block MAJOR! And u know, I still have it! Can you believe it!?!?!?  
  
The thing is that I'm gonna be stuck in this old boring house with no real TV, very little heating and nobody my age or anything to talk to for the next FIVE DAYS! So all I'll have is the warmth of my laptop and typing my story as entertainment so I'll have more done hopefully by the time I'm home. That's the good thing, I'll have time to catch up with the story. If I don't type then I'll go bloody insane! And then none of ya'll get to read the story! :P  
  
Feel my pain people. Because my Thanksgiving weekend is about to become hell! Kill me, Kill me now!!!!  
  
HAPPY THANKSGIVING YOU GUYZ.Or at least you guyz in America. All the rest erm. HAPPY. NORMAL DAY!!!!  
  
Okay well hope ya'll liked it! Got any questions just ask. Thanx for all the reviews to the last chapter. Review for this one now plz!!!!  
  
-AngieX 


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